


Sanditon Conundrums

by suaxie



Category: Sanditon (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:22:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 22,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23397685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suaxie/pseuds/suaxie
Summary: Georgiana Lambe goes missing from Sanditon and her friend Charlotte is determined to find her. Tom and Mary call in the assistance of Tom's brother Sidney, a private detective.Modern AU - some events and characters from the tv show and some differences
Relationships: Charlotte Heywood & Sidney Parker, Charlotte Heywood/Sidney Parker
Comments: 131
Kudos: 218





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been enjoying reading some of the Sanditon stories here so I thought I'd give it a go. This is my first ever fic and the first time I've written fiction since I was a child, hopefully its not too bad!

“And when did you last see her Miss Heywood?”

“At the cricket match like I told you before, she was right there in the dunes before I got up to bat, but by the time it was over she had disappeared.”

“But she had a liaison planned with her boyfriend Otis Molyneux”

“Yes, but they were to meet _in Sanditon”_

“And what makes you think they didn’t just want a little time alone together?”

“Georgiana didn’t do that kind of thing, I know her, I know she wouldn’t sneak off like this.”

“But she _would_ sneak off with her boyfriend ‘in Sanditon’?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“Say you are right, Miss Heywood, and something has happened to Georgiana Lambe. Then surely it's the boyfriend? No one can contact him, no one knows where he is. He had a meeting planned with her at the time she went missing. What’s to stop him taking her?”

“No, Otis wouldn’t do that”

“And you base your assessment on a few hours acquaintance during a previous secret rendezvous.”

“Yes but-”

“So you have asked me to investigate the ‘disappearance’ of your friend - who is an adult - based on the fact that she left at the time she told you she was going to leave. And you are sure someone kidnapped her, but not her boyfriend who has means, motive and opportunity, because of your feelings when you met him briefly three weeks ago. Miss Heywood, do you have anything to offer which is not based on your own naive perceptions?”

“Look, Georgiana did not run away, something happened to her. Please help me find her!”

“I’ll look for her Miss Heywood, because my brother and Mary have asked me to, but I don’t hold out a lot of hope. She has access to a large fortune, she can hide herself pretty well if she wants to.”

“But you will look for her?”

“Yes”

“Then that’s all I can ask. Thank you Mr Parker.”

Charlotte remembered that this was Tom’s brother and held herself back from adding ‘for nothing’ before she stalked out of the room. 

  


Sidney sighed, what had Tom got him into this time? The girl was obviously genuinely worried but she really had no case. No wonder the police weren’t interested.

“How did it go?” Mary stuck her head round the doorway. He shook his head,

“I’ll look into it Mary but I’m not making any promises.” He stood and slipped on his jacket.

“Won't you stay?”

“No, I’m heading back to London, I’ll check out the boyfriend most likely she’s with him”.

“Thank you Sidney”

“No problem” he said almost with sincerity.

“Charlotte has become one of the family, and we’re all really worried about Georgiana.”

“Right”

“I’ll let you get on then, keep in touch.” He nodded and kissed her on the cheek before taking off into the early evening

  


Georgiana Lambe was a multimillionaire Antiguan heiress who, according to the stipulation of her father’s will, was made to live with a guardian in Sanditon until the age of twenty-one, or until she married. While she was rich enough to be going on with, she would receive her full fortune along with her full freedom at the time whichever one of these events happened first. She had disappeared without a trace on Friday afternoon from the town cricket match. Sidney Parker, who was unfortunate enough to be a private detective and have a brother who lived in Sanditon with a nosy and naive houseguest, was called down on the Saturday to see if he could help. If he didn’t owe so much to his brother and sister-in-law he wouldn’t have bothered. He had spent his weekend looking for any evidence something untoward had happened while trying to avoid said irritating house guest. 

Sidney had thought her rather pretty and sweet at first, but she had soon become an annoyance. Wherever he was, she seemed to be, to the point that they had literally walked into each other on two occasions now. In spite of his skepticism, Sidney had interviewed almost everyone in the small town, most of whom had been at the cricket. He figured the most probable criminal cause for Georgiana Lambe’s disappearance would be domestic violence, followed by someone trying to get their hands on her fortune. So in Sanditon he focused mainly on the money angle. There were the Parkers; Tom and Mary, plus his younger brother Arthur and sister Diana, who had come down that Friday for the cricket. They had seen nothing pertinent and as his family who he knew and loved, could not be real suspects. 

The guardian Karen Griffiths was worried, but told him that Georgiana had a history of running away. She had been fully vetted and was well-paid by Mr Lambe’s estate. There were the Denhams, the elderly Lady Denham, her nephew Sir Edward Denham, and her two nieces Clara Brereton and Esther Denham. He had spoken first to the Lady and Esther both of whom were unconcerned by the disappearance. Lady Denham had been rude in general, and racist towards Miss Lambe specifically, but had no need of a fortune. She insisted that she was a rebellious young woman and must have run away. Esther Denham, although appearing to be extremely disinterested gave a vague agreement with her aunt’s assessment. Clara Brereton had given the appearance of being warm and concerned but it wasn’t entirely convincing. She and Sir Edward Denham had been disinherited by the Lady during the weekend which was interesting, but was a family disagreement and had occurred after Miss Lambe’s disappearance. Edward Denham appeared to be bitter towards everyone but had no specific interest in Miss Lambe. While her money may have been an incentive for him, the Parkers had told him that he had other opportunities to try to marry her, encouraged by his aunt, and was not interested. It seemed unlikely therefore he would go to the more extreme lengths of kidnap. Some local labourers who had also been at the cricket match were concerned about Miss Lambe but without much knowledge or interest in her. One man, a Mr James Stringer, appeared more concerned than the rest, but this was based mainly on a poorly hidden affection for Miss Heywood. After two days in Sanditon, the general consensus was that Georgiana Lambe had hated the town, and her guardian, and had probably run away to be with her boyfriend.


	2. Chapter 2

To say the meeting with Mr Parker had been a disappointment to Charlotte Heywood would be an understatement. She had been worried sick about her friend for more than 48 hours. After the police had declined to take interest Sidney Parker was her last hope. In the months of living with Tom and Mary he had only been talked of in the highest of regards. How clever, and patient, and kind he was, how he was so good with the children, and so helpful to Tom. 

He had pulled up in a Porsche the day before looking like he had walked out of a copy of GQ, with all the attitude of a private school boy who had more money than he knew what to do with and less empathy than he needed. Charlotte had tried to give him the benefit of the doubt as Mary excused his inattentiveness and blamed it on some ‘bruising experiences in his youth’, but by the end of the meeting on Sunday night she had developed a sincere dislike for the man. It seemed the feeling was mutual, he appeared to have lost what little patience he had possessed by the end of the weekend too. Sidney Parker had arrived determined not to take an interest, and as the only person who thought there might be something going on, Charlotte had got in his way. 

She had met Georgiana two months before, at a luncheon held by Lady Denham. The tone of the lunch had been at best misguided as Lady Denham used a racist pineapple theme to try to pair up her creepy nephew and the rich heiress. Their next meeting was on the cliff tops where she had found Georgiana in a precarious position at the top of a steep drop. Charlotte had talked Georgiana down and from that day they had been firm friends. 

The only thing Sanditon had been missing for Charlotte at that point was the friendship of someone her own age, and so her life in Sanditon from then on was almost perfect. Until the cricket match. 

Charlotte had considered the idea that Georgiana might have slipped away to finish what she had started that afternoon on the cliff tops, but dismissed the idea. Georgiana had written it off as a one time event, and she had been happier than ever. Even though Charlotte had looked closely she saw no signs that she was falling back into that way of thinking. Perhaps she should have told Sidney Parker about it, but she was sure he would add it to the long list of reasons not to look for Georgiana. 

Charlotte heard the engine of the Porsche roar from the road below and looked out the window to see Sidney Parker driving away. There goes my last hope, she thought for one glum moment. But that was not Charlotte Heywood. No, she didn’t need useless police detectives or useless private detectives. Something _had_ happened to Georgiana and she was going to find out what. She packed up a few things, wrote a note to Tom and Mary, and said goodbye to Trafalgar House. It, and Sanditon, had become her home, but she could not let her friend down. It had already been two days, Georgiana could be anywhere. With some trepidation Charlotte caught the last bus from the marketplace, and gazed out the window until the last lights of Sanditon faded into the distance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the lovely kudos and comments, I was a bit nervous to post the first chapters so it was really nice to see a good response. I hope you enjoy this next one too, I'll try to keep to regular updates :)

It was late when the coach pulled into Victoria. The station was still busy with people sleeping on the dirty benches, clutching overpriced coffees to ward off the cold and standing in long queues for buses. Charlotte had never been to London before. She herself would admit that she had led an extremely sheltered life. Even the sleepy seaside town of Sanditon had been a great adventure to her. 

Charlotte's first glimpse of the city came as a homeless man hassled her for some change. It was big, loud, polluted, chaotic. She had a rough idea of where she was going, and after asking two useless tourist information workers, she decided to work it out on her own. She took the night tube towards the centre, and eventually worked out how to get to Whitechapel. 

She came out onto Mile End, the wide street, still busy at that late hour, was a strange mix of poverty and gentrification. Charlotte knew Whitechapel’s reputation as a rough area, but was determined not to let fear stop her.

She held the note tightly in her hand even though she had the address memorised. Some catcalls reached her from across the street as she turned down a dark alley and then came out into the wider backstreet. Pubs lined the street at every few metres and Charlotte slowed her pace to make sure she didn’t miss the one she was looking for. Finally she found it, the old hand-painted sign swinging above the door showed that this was The Black Horse. The pub was heaving, she had arrived at the tail end of the night and the atmosphere was messy rather than merry. The tables outside were filled with rowdy customers too, and she ignored the comments of the drinkers as she passed. 

The landlord was youngish and black, he had the kind of no-nonsense attitude required to run that type of establishment. They spoke for a few minutes, Charlotte insisting that he help her find Otis, and the landlord insisting against it. 

“But this _is_ his address?” 

“He just uses it for post, he’s never lived here” 

“And you don’t know where he might be?” 

“No idea” 

“Well, does he have any post to pick up? When was the last time he was here?”

“He hasn’t been here for ages, love, I don’t think you’re gonna find him like this”

“Please, just tell me what you know, anything could help” 

“He sent someone to pick up his post a week ago, he wasn’t here for a week before that, and he hasn’t been here since. Look I’m busy, if you want a drink, you can stay, if not, get a move on”. 

For the second time that evening Charlotte’s best hope had failed her. She left dejectedly, wondering what to do next. She supposed she would have to find somewhere to stay, it was already late and she wouldn’t get much further tonight. She decided to leave the seedy area behind and find somewhere if not nicer, at least a little less raucous. 

Retracing her steps she found herself back in the narrow alley, noticing too late that a dark figure was blocking her path. She made to turn, but her movements were too slow and gave her attacker the opportunity to grab her from behind. She cried out as his arms reached around her chest and she struggled to loosen his grip. Her legs kicked out wildly but didn’t make contact. Desperately she bit down hard on the hand that reached to cover her mouth. For a moment she thought she could break free as his grip loosened, but before she could move more than a step he seized her again. She heard a scrape of metal and caught a flash of grimy silver before she was knocked to the ground. The knife fell beside her. She heard the scuffle but couldn’t act before her attacker was thrown to the ground and rough hands were setting her back on her feet. 

“Miss Heywood?” Charlotte wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or annoyed at the sound of Sidney Parker’s voice. Annoyed quickly won out as he began scolding her. “What the fuck are you doing here?” He said with vehement hostility. 

She was a little taken aback and replied with anger “Looking for Otis of course, I didn’t know if you knew to look here. Or if you would bother” she finished darkly. He grabbed her bag from the floor and almost dragged her out of the alleyway. 

“You didn’t think I could do my job so you just came to London in the middle of the night to investigate alone?” 

“Well, yes” 

“Are you out of your mind?”

She snatched the bag back and made to leave him behind when a drunkard swaggered into her. Sidney grabbed the man by the collar and threw him out of the way into the gutter. Irritated that he had in fact proved himself useful, Charlotte allowed him to guide her towards his car. 

“Where are you staying? I’ll drop you off”

“I’m not sure yet I was just going to look for a hotel.” He took a deep breath as though steadying himself, 

“You were just going to wander around _here_ at-” he checked his watch “two forty-five, looking for somewhere to stay?” She wanted to argue but kept silent, unfortunately he was right for once.

“Does Mary know where you are?”

“I left a note”

“Right, get in, you can sleep on my sofa for tonight, I’ll let Mary know you’re ok” he reached for the car door and muttered “by some kind of miracle”. 

The drive was short, and Sidney drove fast, soon they were climbing the steps to the top floor of an old Georgian town house. Charlotte was surprised by how homely it seemed as he let her inside. The top floor flat in the centre of London would certainly cost enough to go with his sports car and designer clothes but it was more cozy than she could have imagined. She had expected Sidney Parker to live in some fancy new glass and steel apartment in a skyscraper, or possibly some dingy brutalist tower block. The hallway led past the bathroom and on to the kitchen. The living room was light and airy, a big bookshelf covered one wall while artwork hung on the others. Doors on the opposite side led on to Sidney’s bedroom and an office space. A few photos of his siblings and nieces and nephews were dotted around, Charlotte spotted a photo of Tom and Mary on their wedding day by the window. 

“I don’t have a spare room so you’ll have to make do with the sofa” he said somewhat grumpily as he pulled out some blankets from a cupboard. “The bathroom is back through the hall, help yourself to stuff in the kitchen. Do you need anything else?”. Charlotte shook her head, 

“This is fine” she caught his eye, “thank you” she said earnestly. He had taken her in despite his feelings against her, and this had to be much better than whatever dingy hotel she could have found. 

“Well, Mary would kill me if she found out I let you go off on your own” he looked at her for a moment, and his usually dark frown relaxed a little. “Goodnight, Miss Heywood” he went into his bedroom and closed the door behind him. 

Charlotte quietly went to change and brush her teeth before returning to make up her bed in the living room. She would not have thought for a moment that she would have ended up here after her first night in London. She felt guilty about being so angry with Sidney after he saved her in the alley, but he was always so rude. Charlotte covered herself with one of the warm blankets and thought about Georgiana. Another night that she was god knows where. I’m sorry Georgiana, I’m going to find you. She thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Also no offence to Whitechapel! Its actually quite a cool part of London and obviously not this dangerous


	4. Chapter 4

Charlotte woke to the smell of breakfast, she let herself wake up gradually, imagining that she was back in Willingden and her parents were cooking a big breakfast for the whole family. She didn’t acknowledge the anxious feeling until her brain gained enough consciousness to remember what caused it. Charlotte sat up quickly, remembering where she was. She dressed and put her hair up before following the sounds and smells into the kitchen. Sidney was there and for a moment she forgot how much she hated him and just appreciated how good he looked. He was relaxed, and almost cheerful as he cooked. He looked younger and she could see the muscular figure usually hidden by his dark suits as he stood in his t-shirt and boxers. 

“Ah good, you’re up” he grabbed the toast that had just popped out of the toaster. “Sit.” She sat at the small table, and watched as he put down two plates of scrambled eggs. “Tea or coffee?” 

“Coffee, please” He produced two delicious smelling coffees from the espresso machine and sat down. “Thanks” she said quietly as they tucked in to the breakfast. The eggs were good, she felt some of the life returning to her. He ate quietly and watched as she poured milk into her coffee. “So, Mr Parker, what’s next? Do you have another idea of where to find Otis?” A little more of his usual seriousness returned,

“What’s next, Miss Heywood, is that you are going back to Sanditon” She opened her mouth to object but he spoke over her “You are a liability here, look what happened last night.”

“I can look after myself”

“Yeah you’ve done a great job so far” he scoffed “I told you I’m going to investigate, even against my better judgment. So you’ll be better off out of the way.” She could see that she would get nowhere by arguing so she changed tack.

“Do you at least have an idea of where to find Otis?” He didn’t, but he didn’t want to admit it to her.

“I’ll think of something, it didn’t take me long to come up with the address last night did it?” Charlotte’s irritation returned, he wanted to send her back to Sanditon so he could do the ‘proper detective work’, but he didn’t have any idea of where to look.

“Have you thought of the Sons of Africa?”

“The what?”

“The Sons of Africa, it's a group Otis is in, he said he spends a lot of time there.” Annoyingly it was actually a good lead. 

“Fine, I’ll go and check it out. As soon as you’re back on a train to Sanditon.” 

They passed the time getting ready in something less than companionable silence and Sidney drove her to the station.  
“Goodbye Miss Heywood, have a safe journey back to Sanditon” he said as she reached for the handle. She hesitated for a moment before she spoke  
“Mr Parker, I’m sorry if I've offended you, I’m just worried about my friend, and I truly am grateful for what you did for me last night. I hope you don’t think too badly of me”

“Listen, Miss Heywood, you’re just a small town girl bored with your dull life. Your friend ran away and now you need there to be some big mystery. Maybe so that you don’t have to feel so bad about your own life or so you don’t have to admit that she left you behind too.” His tone was icy cold. “I’m only interested in this case to do a favour for Tom and Mary. Think badly of you? Miss Heywood I don’t think of you at all. Do I make myself clear?” Her jaw clenched and she tried to maintain her calm as she answered 

“Only that if you really don’t care, I wonder that you make such an effort to be so hurtful” she grabbed her bag from the footwell and got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. 

Charlotte walked into the train station without a look back, but she didn’t head towards the ticket booths or the departure boards. She walked straight past the crowds waiting for delayed Southern Rail trains and made her way down to the underground station. She tapped in with her contactless card and followed the signs for the Victoria Line. The carriage emptied out a little more with each stop and by the time they got to the end of the line she was alone except for a smartly dressed elderly gentleman and a very cool looking young woman with braids and brightly coloured make up. She paused to let the woman pass as the doors opened and the now familiar voice boomed out “Mind the gap!”. Everyone walked quickly and studiously avoided eye contact. Charlotte wished that she could be back in Sanditon or Willingden where people were friendly and open. As if to prove her point a woman shoved past her towards the barriers. 

Charlotte walked away from the busy station through gradually quieter streets until she reached an old brick building. The signs declared it to be the Coldharbour Community Centre. ‘Home to the Sons of Africa’ was tagged on underneath. The building itself was a little worse for wear although it must have been nice when it was first built. A lighter section of brickwork revealed the part of the building which had been bomb damaged, and then rebuilt after the second world war. A mural on one side referenced Windrush and the Brixton Riot. Charlotte pushed open the heavy door and went inside. 

“Hi, I’m looking for some information about the Sons of Africa?” The man at the reception smiled kindly at her “Oh they’re popular this morning. You can have a look around, their schedule for this month is pinned up just outside the main hall. And they’ve got a display just inside the doors if you want to take a look.” Charlotte thanked him and thought that he seemed to be the first friendly face she had seen since she arrived in London. 

“A friend actually recommended that I come here, Otis Molyneux. Do you know if he’s here?” The man frowned a little but his friendly attitude prevailed. 

“Like I told the other guy, he’s not been around for a few days, but he’s always in and out.” 

“What other guy?” Charlotte asked curiously. 

“This tall serious guy was asking the same questions - oh here he is now”

The hall doors swung open and Charlotte turned to see who it could be. 

“Oh for the love of- are you serious?” Sidney Parker was glaring at her once again. “You are supposed to be on your way back to Sanditon” 

“Well I’m not particularly happy to see you either.” She turned back to the receptionist. “Thank you for your help, uh,” she glanced at his badge “Dave, I’ll just have a quick look at the display if you don’t mind." He nodded at her slightly bemused. Sidney watched her walk into the hall before he left the centre without another word. 

Charlotte looked around interested to see the display and the community centre where Otis spent a lot of his time. She wondered if Georgiana had been there when she had first arrived in London. The schedule showed a range of events but no mention of the organisers and there was no sign of Otis at all. She took a photo just in case, and made her way out. The kind receptionist stopped her just before she left, 

“Why is it that you’re all looking for Otis then?” Charlotte explained that he was seeing her friend, but that she’d not been in contact for a few days and she wanted to know if she was with Otis after all. “I just want to make sure she’s ok, that’s all” she finished. 

“Okay love, how about you give me your number and I’ll let you know if he shows up”.

Charlotte thanked him profusely and wrote down her name and number on a scrap of paper. Feeling like something could, for once, be going right, she left a lot happier than she had entered. At least she was making _some_ progress. The heavy door swung shut behind her and her good mood faded as quickly as it had come. Sidney Parker was leaning against his car, now parked directly in front of the entrance.

“Miss Heywood,” he reached out to her arm as she made to walk past him without a word. She sighed and came to a stop.

“What do you want Mr Parker?” 

“Why didn’t you go back to Sanditon?”

“I thought you didn’t care what I do”

“I don’t, but I know Mary will be worrying.” Charlotte felt a little guilty about this but really she didn’t have a lot of options. 

“Did you find anything useful?” She demanded, ignoring the guilt trip. 

“Not really, they don’t have any contact details for him, and I doubt he’ll come here if he’s with Miss Lambe.”

“So what’s next?”

“What’s next is that you go back to Sanditon and let me do my job Miss Heywood”

“So I can leave Georgiana’s fate in your capable hands” She retorted sarcastically. He rolled his eyes in response, 

“Look, I can’t force you to leave, you’re an adult I suppose, you can stay in London if you want, but really you’re wasting your time here”

“Fine”

“So you’ll go?”

“No.”

“Fine.” 

Charlotte made her way back towards the tube station and found a cafe she could sit in. It was a chain cafe with ugly interiors and sub-par coffee but she could sit and charge her phone without anyone bothering her. She booked an exorbitantly priced hotel for the next few nights and started to make a plan. Otis was still her best bet for some kind of information about Georgiana. She tried to remember all the places he had mentioned in the few hours they had all spent in the woods. It had been a lovely spring day and they sat in the bluebells to have a picnic. She had been suspicious of him at first but he quickly won her over. He and Georgiana had been so in love. 

Returning to the present Charlotte looked down at her list, it was a bit thin but she couldn’t think of anything better. Next she tried to think of all the places Georgiana had told her about in London, it had been her only other home in England and she had much preferred it to Sanditon, at least initially. Armed with a list, a fully charged phone, and a substantial amount of tenacity, she left the cafe. 


	5. Chapter 5

Sidney awoke to a loud banging on his door, his head pounded and the racket wasn’t helping. He slipped out from under the arms of the woman in his bed and stumbled towards the door. His bleary eyes focused on the woman at his door, Charlotte Heywood. Would he never get a break from her? She was looking at him closely with her bright eyes. He supposed he looked a mess, he felt a little embarrassed standing there in only his boxers. 

“Ah the ubiquitous Miss Heywood” he spoke with slightly more eloquence than his appearance indicated “to what do I owe the pleasure”

“Get dressed, we’ve got somewhere to be” 

“Sidney?” Called a voice from the bedroom “come back to bed”

The beautiful woman from last night emerged into the hall wearing only the sheet from his bed. Sidney saw Charlotte’s eyebrows raise a little but she made no comment. 

“Sorry, uh..”

“Olivia”

“Sorry Olivia, I’ve got some work to do”

“No problem” she disappeared for a few moments and Sidney opened the door wide enough for Charlotte to enter. He ignored her slightly judgemental look and offered her a coffee. 

“Dave called me”

“Who?”

“The guy from the community centre, he said Otis is there today”

Sidney had begun to wake up a little and looked at her with interest “and you came here?”. 

Charlotte sighed, the past few days had been busy and unproductive. For a small town girl Charlotte had quickly adapted to the city. She had probably seen more than most in her mission to investigate every possible location of Georgiana or Otis, but she hadn’t found any clues as to where they might be. Her anxiety seemed to grow with every hour that passed and she tried not to imagine what condition Georgiana could be in. She had run into Sidney Parker a few times which was both irksome and heartening. At least he must have been putting some effort into the search, even if he did it with bad grace. 

“I know you think I’m an idiot, but we obviously have a shared goal. We might save some time and effort if we work together”

“I don’t think you’re an idiot, just… a little naive I suppose” he had to concede that she had found every lead so far, maybe he could admit that he might have been too harsh. 

“Right, whatever, do you want to come with me?”

Olivia reappeared looking extremely well put together for someone who had just woken up from a one night stand. She made her way over to Sidney, 

“Thanks for last night”

“Sure”

She kissed him passionately and left with a quick “bye” to Charlotte. 

Sidney continued as if they had not been interrupted. He had to try to dissuade her, he knew the road she was going down and it wasn’t a good one. She was smart, and seemed to be more capable than he had given her credit for, but she could only be disappointed. There was a part of him that didn’t want her to lose the optimism and innocence that had irritated him so much. 

“Look, Miss Heywood, I know that you want to find your friend. Maybe you want to ease your guilty conscience for not being there when she disappeared, but you have to see that this is going to end badly for you. Best case scenario she’s ditched you without bothering to let you know she’s ok. If she has been taken, by Mr Molyneux, or somebody else, it's likely that by this point she’s already dead. You’re probably going to find some things that you don’t want to know, and if something bad has happened you’re putting yourself in danger blundering around like this. I’ve seen what this can do to friends and families. You really would be better off going home” 

“I just need to know what happened” she said finally, “I can deal with everything else, but I can’t sit around at home knowing that she’s out there somewhere. If she ditched me, great, if she’s dead-” her throat caught a little “I can deal with it. But what if she’s still alive, and no one is coming to help her? I have to try” she finished firmly. He looked at her for what seemed like a very long time, finally, reluctantly, he gave in. 

“Okay, I’ll get dressed”. 

“How did you get ‘Dave’ to call you?” Sidney asked, they were stuck in the typical London traffic. He was impressed that Charlotte had tracked Otis down. He had been looking for information since his return to London and it seemed that Mr Molyneux didn’t want to be found. He had very few contacts and no address other than the pub in Whitechapel. Miss Heywood’s lead of the Sons of Africa was the only information anyone seemed to have on him. Sidney spent the days investigating every lead he could find about Georgiana Lambe or Otis Molyneux but nothing interesting had come up until Charlotte knocked on his door that morning. He was still unsure whether it was the right decision to work with her, but, he consoled himself, it seemed unlikely that she would stop just because he said no. 

“I just refrained from being surly and impolite and he tried to help me. It can really help to treat people like actual human beings with thoughts and feelings” He supposed he deserved that one. 

“So Miss Heywood, what else have you found with this revolutionary tactic?” 

Not a lot, it transpired but then neither had he and he was actually a detective. She filled him in on everything she had done so far, it wasn’t the worst plan, he supposed. 

Once all the details of the case were out of the way they lapsed back into silence. Sidney didn’t have anything else to say and didn’t mind the lull, but Miss Heywood, it seemed, had other ideas. 

“So, how do you afford all of this?”

“All of what?”

“You know the fancy car, the flat in central London, I wouldn’t have thought being a private detective pays this much” 

“It doesn’t” 

Another pause, and he felt her look across the car at him. 

“I inherited quite a lot when my parents died. I started some businesses and I have some investments. It gives me enough to live on”

“I’m sorry” She said softly, and he was confused for a moment. “About your parents I mean”. He briefly let himself acknowledge the incessant ache in his chest, he tried not to think about them most of the time. About how they weren’t there anymore. It had been years now, he could cope with it, but it was still hard. He refocused, it wouldn’t do to think about that now. “And what do you do Miss Heywood?” He asked to change the subject, Mary had said something about a farm but he wasn’t listening too closely at the time. 

“I help manage my parents’ farm in Willingdon. Well, it's more of an estate than a farm. I do all the paperwork, help with the plans for maintenance and development. And usually I’m on site to step in anytime they need an extra pair of hands” 

“So how did you end up in Sanditon?” 

“Oh Tom took a wrong turn onto one of the farm tracks and then skidded into a fence. Luckily no one was hurt in the crash, but Tom twisted his ankle getting out. I helped them all into the house and they stayed with us for a few days until they were all set to go back.” 

“Them all?”

“Tom, Mary and the kids” 

“You just invited a family of strangers to stay in your home?” 

“Well, they were so nice and we’re so far from anywhere that it took a little while to get the car fixed. Anyway the farm house is pretty big, my great grandfather was one of fourteen children apparently. One part of it is separated off to rent out and we were between tenants, so why not?” 

“Right” he was grateful that someone had taken such care of his family, but it seemed very unusual. There was being nice and then there was housing a family of six who crashed into your farm. Only Charlotte Heywood would be that trusting.

“Tom told me all about Sanditon and it sounded lovely so when they invited me to stay I accepted. I can do a lot of my work remotely” 

“And Miss Lambe?” 

“She was having a hard time with the move to Sanditon, her dad died a couple of years ago and then she had to move to a new country by herself. But she’s really nice even though she doesn’t have a lot of patience for people in Sanditon. We got to know each other really well and she’s a good friend” Her voice trailed off sadly. 

Sidney tried to push down the empathetic feelings that rose inside him. They had reached the community centre and he pulled up outside.  
“Let’s go and find her then.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has been leaving kudos and comments! Its been really nice to see what you think, and don't worry good Sidney is in there, he just needs a little more time to bring him out :) This chapter follows the series a little more closely again as we get a little bit closer to Georgiana.

Otis was at the front of the hall giving a lecture when they found him. He jumped as Sidney called his name, but appeared to relax a little when he saw Charlotte. He excused himself from the group and followed them out onto the street. Charlotte thought Sidney looked unnecessarily threatening as he loomed over Otis, but didn’t waste time trying to get him to chill out. 

“Mr Molyneux, you’re a hard man to track down” 

“I…it wasn’t intentional”

“Really?” 

Charlotte interrupted “Otis is Georgiana with you?”

“No, I haven’t seen her since the last time in Sanditon, when we went to the woods together”

Charlotte’s heart sank, the idea that she had been with Otis somewhere had been the most hopeful of the unpleasant alternatives. 

“She’s been missing since last Friday” Sidney said and Otis could hear the accusation in his voice. 

“I don’t know where she is, I swear!”

“Mr Molyneux she disappeared at exactly the time she was supposed to be meeting you”

“I don’t know anything about that, I haven’t had any messages from her and I’ve been busy recently, I haven’t been to get my post”

“But the landlord at The Black Horse said you sent someone to get your letters” Charlotte broke in. 

“I didn’t! I don’t know anything about that!”

“Then why would someone steal your post?”

“I...I don’t know” Otis stuttered. Sidney pushed him roughly against the wall. 

“What do you really know?”

Otis looked terrified and broke down, “there’s only one thing I can think of, but I’m sure its got nothing to do with Georgiana”

“Spit it out”

“I owe a..certain debt”

“To whom?”

“Beecroft” Otis admitted defeatedly. 

“You idiot” Sidney’s voice was full of venom and he pushed him again. 

“Who is Beecroft?” Charlotte asked nervously, but a little frustrated at falling behind in the conversation. Sidney turned to her seriously, 

“He runs an underground gambling network, it’s highly illegal and highly dangerous” he grabbed Otis by the collar and hauled him towards the car. “Let’s go” 

The drive was tense and quiet, Otis didn’t dare say anything else from the back seat and Charlotte was too overcome with the mix of anxiety and excitement to make conversation. At last, something was happening, surely they were one step closer to finding Georgiana. As they arrived in a very rough looking neighbourhood Sidney turned to Charlotte, 

“I know Beecroft. It's better if I go in with Otis and we find out what he knows. You’ll be a distraction and it will be harder to find out about Miss Lambe”

His tone left no room for argument and for once Charlotte relented and followed his lead. He stepped out of the car and dragged Otis out after him. “We won’t be long.”

Beecroft was dangerous, he was well known among the less respectable gamblers of the city. Although Sidney was sure he was not the top of the chain, who he answered to was a mystery he had not yet solved. He hadn’t had cause to put very much effort into it as yet. He could see Otis sweating as he hammered on the door. He looked up to the CCTV camera placed just above it and the door swung open. 

“Mr Parker, Mr Molyneux, what can we do for you today” a short stocky man in a suit welcomed them. 

“I need to see Mr Beecroft, it’s an urgent matter pertaining to Mr Molyneux’s debt”

“Just one moment please” he said with almost theatrical politeness. He nodded to another man stood a few steps behind and the man disappeared. They waited a few minutes without making conversation until the second man returned. He nodded and the first man stood aside to let them pass. “Right this way please” he directed them through the corridor and into a more luxurious looking waiting area. Finally they passed through another door into Beecroft’s office. 

“Hello Mr Parker, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?” Beecroft asked with the smug air of a man who knew the answer to his question, and knew that he held all the cards. 

“I’d like to discuss Mr Molyneux’s debt if you don’t mind.” 

Beecroft gestured for the men to sit. “Not at all Mr Parker, and may I ask, what interest do you have in the habits of this degenerate gambler?”

“We have a mutual acquaintance” Sidney conceded without emotion. 

“I see, well, fire away Mr Parker” Beecroft sat back in his chair.

“I am interested to know under what conditions you agreed to extend such a generous line of credit to such an inconsequential client, Mr Molyneux seems to be ignorant of these facts at this time.” He threw a glare across to Otis. 

“While that would usually be a private matter of business Mr Parker, I will share it with you on this occasion. It’s simple, Mr Molyneux strongly suggested that he had certain benefactors who would be able to provide the funds. Although I have since learned that these benefactors were unaware of his agreement”

Otis broke in “I swear I didn’t-” 

He was silenced by a look from Sidney. Beecroft appeared merely somewhat amused by the scene before him. 

“I take it you have already received payment of these funds?”

“I expect to shortly”

“And does the payment come directly from the benefactor?” 

Beecroft looked at him sharply “No, in the end the benefactor worked better as merely a deposit of a sort” 

Sidney gave a small nod. This was more serious than he had anticipated. “And if I could offer to pay the sum in full, would you accept?”

“I’m afraid I already have a more beneficial deal, unfortunately I cannot withdraw from it at this time.”

“And Mr Molyneux?”

“His slate is clear, although with no future source of funds I must inform you Mr Molyneux that you are unlikely to receive further credit at this establishment.” Sidney stood and nodded to Beecroft, “Goodbye Mr Parker, you of course are welcome any time” Otis stood shakily and followed Sidney out of the room. 

They made it just out of sight of the CCTV camera before Sidney turned and pinned Otis to the wall. He didn’t know Georgiana but he fully understood what would be happening to her. This man had traded his girlfriend for a few extra poker games. He raised his fist, fully intending to beat him to a pulp. Then suddenly Charlotte was there, looking at him with her big innocent eyes and asking him to stop. “Please Mr Parker, what good will it do?” the desperate note in her voice unsettled him. Without taking a conscious decision his fist lowered, he couldn’t follow through on his anger with her looking at him like that. 

He didn't want to consider this apparent power she suddenly held over him and he turned away, leaving Otis to slide down to the floor. 

“What happened? What did he say?” She asked urgently. He hated to give her the bad news but knew he had to. 

“She has been used as collateral against Mr Molyneux’s debts.”

“But what if we can get the money-”

“I tried but he won’t take it. He’s not using Georgiana for her money, he’s just acquired her for someone else” Charlotte looked horrified but confused so he continued. 

“She’ll be worth an extremely large amount of money either when she turns 21 or when she marries. My bet is that someone paid out to get her from Beecroft, then they’ll try to force her into marriage to get access to the funds.” 

He saw her expression change horrified, disgusted, scared, and then hopeful? 

“What is it?” 

“Well, they need her alive to get the money, so she must be alive, at least for now”

“Yes, for now” Sidney agreed grimly.

“Did Beecroft already hand her off? Does he have his money?”

“Not yet” Sidney said thoughtfully, he could see where she was going. 

“Well, he’s not going to hand her over until he has his money, he must be keeping her somewhere. Could she be here?” She turned back to the building with a calculating look. 

“No, it wouldn’t be here.”

“Where then?”

“Lets go back to my office, I have a file on Beecroft, we can work out which is the most likely option” 

Charlotte looked back guiltily at Otis but followed Sidney to the car. They spent the afternoon in his home office, Charlotte reading the old file, Sidney at the computer. Where would Beecroft keep her? Somewhere a little less connected to him probably, but also somewhere he would have control, and somewhere secure. It has to be easy enough for the buyer to pick her up without being seen. 

Occasionally one of them would make a suggestion, but Beecroft’s connections were so convoluted, and his empire so wide that it was difficult to find a suitable location. They ordered takeaway and continued late into the evening. They had a long list of possible locations, all of them reasonably unlikely. Charlotte wanted to spend the night knocking down doors across London until they found Georgiana but eventually Sidney persuaded her against it. 

With the information from Beecroft he was almost as determined as Charlotte to find her friend, and while knocking down doors appealed to him greatly, in his experience a more systematic approach yielded more results. She left just before midnight, more or less accepting his argument that the search could take days and she would need some rest if she was going to be any use. She looked deflated, all her hope from the afternoon replaced with fear.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is following along! I'm not sure this all fits as a cohesive chapter but I didn't really want to break it up either so I'm sorry if it seems a bit disjointed. Hopefully the case is not too slow going, but we are getting closer now :)

Sidney woke for the second day in a row to a loud banging on his front door. 

“Ugh it's too early” groaned the woman beside him. 

“I think its work” he explained groggily as he looked for his boxers. 

“Miss Heywood” he opened the door and she passed him without hesitation. 

“Morning Mr Parker, did you find anything?” She looked wide awake and he was pleased to see her usual determined countenance.

“Not yet”

“Can I borrow your laptop?”

“Sure” He grabbed it from the office and handed it to her. 

“Thanks, I can start while you get dressed, want me to make you a coffee?” 

He thought about pointing out the ridiculousness of her barging in and offering him his own coffee in his own kitchen, but decided he would be better off with the caffeine. He went to shower and when he came back he found both women in the kitchen. Charlotte was making polite conversation in spite of her frown of concentration as she searched for clues. 

“Well, I better head out” announced the other woman “I might actually make it to the gym before work. See you later Sidney, thanks for the coffee Charlotte.” 

“Sorry I gave her yours” Charlotte glanced up from the screen. “She was nice.” 

“Hmm, Emma” he nodded vaguely. 

“Ah so you remembered her name this time” she smirked. 

Choosing to ignore this Sidney picked up the file from the office and began to read as he made himself another coffee. There was nothing useful in it and he gave up on the file after half an hour to make breakfast instead. Sidney watched as Charlotte ate ravenously without looking away from the laptop. At least providing food was something tangible he could do to help. As much as he had tried to stop her from ‘tagging along’ he had realised over the past few days that he was very much supporting _her_ investigation. After breakfast he retreated into his office to use the computer, diving deep into shell corporations and sham accounts. After lunch they were both getting desperate. 

“Right I’ve changed my mind, I propose that we choose the most likely places and just go and check them out” he finally decided. Charlotte was all for taking action and so they spent another hour narrowing down their long list until they had five most likely places. 

“We could split up?” Charlotte suggested 

“There’s no way I’m letting you go to any of these places alone” Sidney retorted. He felt a mix of admiration and horror as he imagined her bursting through the doors of Beecroft’s criminal enterprises. “What’s your top pick?” Charlotte ignored his comment and thought for a second.

“The brothel, it's out of the way, but easy to get to. A lot of traffic passes through the area so it wouldn’t be too suspicious to go there, plus it has to be a pretty controlled environment” Sidney considered for a moment. She made a good argument. If he was Beecroft that’s where he’d put Miss Lambe. 

“Let’s go” 

They drove at speed, somehow making it through the busy London traffic arriving at the brothel within half an hour. Charlotte made to get out but Sidney pushed the door back 

“Ah, no. Wait here” he ordered. Charlotte considered it for a few seconds, before following him into the building. It looked surprisingly normal and nondescript on the outside. Even the reception area they arrived in looked somewhat professional, but there was something off about it. A middle aged woman came forward to greet him with a false smile, but before he could utter a word Charlotte appeared by his side. 

“I told you to wait in the car!” 

“I thought better of it.” He wanted to argue but she ignored him and got straight to the point. She turned to the woman, 

“We're looking for Georgiana Lambe is she here?” The woman paled slightly but remained calm. 

“I’m sorry I don’t know that name.” She turned to retreat behind the desk but Sidney caught her arm. 

“We know Beecroft had her, is she still here?” he demanded. The woman looked uncomfortable but seemed to decide it was easier to give them what they wanted. 

“They left a few hours ago”

“Tell us what you know.” She appeared to consider for a minute, and then spoke. 

“I overheard them. His plan seemed to be to take her abroad somewhere to marry her, but he said he was going to get his hands on all the money he could before they risked the journey.”

“Thank you” Charlotte said warmly to Sidney’s surprise, the woman had aided in the kidnapping of her friend! “Well, she didn’t have to tell us anything” she explained as he looked at her in disbelief. They sat in the car for a while trying to think of their next move before Charlotte complained, “Sorry but can we get away from here, I can’t stand being somewhere so creepy any longer.”

“Well, we still have some reason to hope” Charlotte said as they sat back down at his kitchen table. She sounded as though she was trying to persuade herself more than him. “As of this morning she was still alive, and still in the country. We just need to work out where they think they can get money from Georgiana and then we’ll be able to track them down.” He nodded admiring her tenacity. “Could it be a bank?” She asked without much hope. 

“Too risky, she could easily tip someone off” 

“I suppose she had a lot of expensive jewellery in Sanditon, it could be that?”

“It would be impossible to go there without being really obvious and there would need to be a lot of jewellery to make it worthwhile.” 

“Cash point? She could have access to quite a lot of money on her cards”

“Could be, but they must know it would be easy to trace them like that.” Charlotte sighed disappointed. “I’ll call in a favour and see if I can track her cards” he pulled out his phone and went into his office to make the call. They ordered more food and sat down to try to find any clue as to where Georgiana would have access to a large sum of money, becoming more dejected as the evening went on. 

Not long after dinner Charlotte pushed away the laptop and files in front of her with a sigh. Unable to spend any more time contemplating the conundrum of Georgiana’s disappearance, she turned to the conundrum of Sidney Parker. He too had moved away from the computer, he sat as though deep in thought with a intensely worried look on his face. After their rocky start Charlotte had thoroughly disliked him, she only called on him for his help with Otis for the sake of Georgiana. But their desperate shared goal had brought them together and he had stopped trying to push her away. Charlotte didn’t know what to think, he acted like a complete dick a lot of the time, but then she would catch glimpses of another side to him. 

“If you don’t mind my asking, why did you accept this case? Obviously I didn’t convince you, and no one else thought anything was wrong.” 

“Tom and Mary asked me to, and I owe them a lot.” There was something about her that encouraged him to share what he had refused to talk about with anyone for almost ten years now. “Not long after my parents died, my girlfriend left me. Not just broke up with me, but disappeared completely. One day she was there, and the next nothing. I thought something had happened to her. I called the police, I spent a week tracking her down.” He took a deep breath “And then I finally found out she was on a greek island getting married to some millionaire she’d met a few weeks before.” Charlotte looked at him sympathetically but didn’t interrupt. “I was already a bit…fragile since the deaths of my parents and I didn’t take it well. I had been really in love with her, we were building a future together, I thought she would be there for me.” He looked thoroughly ashamed as he continued “After I found out where she was I started drinking a lot, doing drugs, fighting, quite a lot of other things I regret too. Tom and Mary saved me, they got me out of everything and back on my feet.”

He looked back to Charlotte, she had never seen him look so vulnerable, but he smiled at her. “So obviously when they told me their annoying guest needed a private detective I couldn’t refuse.” 

“I’m sorry that happened to you” Charlotte said softly, she supposed that explained why he was so mistrustful and pessimistic. His attitude didn’t seem completely unreasonable after that. 

“About the downward spiral or the annoying house guest?” He asked, looking a little more like himself. 

“Well, I can’t say I regret asking for your help, even though you were a bit of a dick to me at the start.” 

“Do you forgive me?” He was serious again.

“Of course” she replied earnestly, they had become a good team. They seemed to have a connection and Charlotte could feel the growing closeness between them. Once she had got past the initial prickliness he was good to her, he invited her into his home and put everything into the investigation. Even when he thought nothing had happened to Georgiana he had still investigated, and now it seemed like he really believed in her when she insisted that they could find Georgiana. Every time she solved another piece of the Sidney conundrum she found herself liking him more. With that unexpectedly sentimental thought Charlotte stood to leave. When had she gone so soft on him?  
“I’d better get going” 

“You can stay here if you want” his expression betrayed a slight hopefulness which decided Charlotte against staying. 

“No, its ok, the hotel bed is marginally comfier than your sofa. And anyway, I don’t want to keep you from whoever is coming round tonight.”


	8. Chapter 8

Charlotte’s phone rang at 3:22am 

“Hello?” she answered sleepily 

“Miss Heywood” 

“Mr Parker?” 

“I’ve found something” Charlotte sat up suddenly wide awake. “I’ll pick you up in 15 minutes” he hung up. 

“I was looking through Miss Lambe’s accounts and I found an invoice for a safe, it was while she was living here so its probably at her property in London. I checked her house before I went to Sanditon and it was empty but she must have been with Beecroft then”. Sidney was driving much too fast through the empty London streets, but Charlotte didn’t mind this time. They were both tense and edgy, wondering what they might find at Georgiana’s house, could she be there still? Or would they be disappointed again? 

“Did you let her sleep in or did you kick her out as you left?” She asked attempting to distract herself from the dark dread which had begun to creep over her. 

“Neither, Sophia didn’t want to stay over, that’s why I was up looking at Miss Lambe’s accounts”. 

“Well, thank god for Sophia.” 

The street was the perfect picture of a wealthy London suburb. Leafy trees lined the pavements and Range Rovers filled the driveways. They stopped right in front of number 28. The light from the streetlight was obscured by one of the large trees and the house was dark. There were no signs of anything untoward, everything was neat and well kept. The front door was closed and there were no signs of a break in. Unlike the other houses on the street however, the curtains were wide open. Sidney reached the window before Charlotte and swore loudly. 

“What is it?” Charlotte cried “is it her?” 

“No” he pulled out his phone and dialled before he turned to the front door and picked the lock. Charlotte followed him into the house, they stopped at the doorway to the living room and she could see clearly now the open safe and the two figures. One short and fat, the other tall and thin. Both with holes in their heads which had caused pools of blood to seep into the carpet. “Yes, hello, police please…” Sidney pushed Charlotte behind him but they continued together through the house as he spoke. There was no trace of Georgiana or anyone else.

Retreating back outside they leant against Sidney’s car, he watched her carefully as they waited for the police to arrive. 

“Do you think Georgiana did it?” Charlotte asked tentatively. Sidney sighed, 

“I hope so, if she fought them off and managed to escape that would be better than…but then where is she? They’ve been dead for hours, surely she would have turned up somewhere? Or asked someone for help.” They lapsed back into tense silence until they were interrupted by the first police cars. Sidney took the lead, explaining why they had come to the house in the middle of the night and how they had discovered the bodies. A double shooting in leafy Richmond was a big deal and by the time the sun had risen the house was full of police officers, detectives, and forensic scientists. Charlotte and Sidney were separated to give their statements and then had to wait for the arrival of the detectives. Sidney seemed to know them well and after a reasonably quick chat they let him and Charlotte go. 

“Will you come back to mine? I don’t think you should be alone” 

“I’ll be fine” 

“All the same, I’d prefer it if you did”

“Okay”

Sidney made tea and they sat on the sofa together.  
“Detective Crowe is an old friend, he’ll keep us up to date on what they find.” Sidney said, more to fill the silence than anything. “And they’ll be looking for Georgiana too now so that’s good.” Charlotte nodded. “Miss Heywood, are you ok?” She was pale and had a blank expression. He had accused her of being naive before but he would prefer naivety to the kind of worldliness that came from seeing two dead bodies. He knew he should have persuaded her not to investigate, guilt added to the mix of emotions. 

“I’m just worried about Georgiana. We’re back to the beginning. How are we going to find her now?” 

A few tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks, Sidney reached over to put an arm around her shoulder. 

“We’ll find her” he said as she turned into his embrace. 

After a while Charlotte drifted off. Sidney wrapped his arms around her protectively as she curled into his chest, wishing he could do more to actually protect her. He had warmed to her over the investigation in spite of his attempts to keep her at a distance. She was so selfless and driven, and he had to admit her company had made the long stressful days a little easier. He stopped that train of thought and eased his way out from underneath her. Covering her with a blanket he retreated to his office. Charlotte was right, they had a lot of work to do, and with no clues they would have to start again from the beginning.

Charlotte woke up a little later, she felt like she had slept for too long and not long enough. She sat groggily and listed to Sidney moving around in the kitchen. He came back into the living room fifteen minutes later. 

“Oh good, you’re awake. I made lunch, are you hungry?”

“Yeah thanks” She stood, feeling a little more alive and followed him to the kitchen. He looked at her with concern for a moment before setting down a plate of spaghetti bolognese in front of her. 

“So I think we ought to go back to Sanditon” 

Charlotte glared at him “I thought we were past this”

“No, I mean together, to investigate” he had thought about asking her again to leave him to investigate alone but he knew what her response would be. She had been surprisingly helpful and if they worked together they might just have a chance to find Georgiana. “I have looked into almost every person Georgiana had contact with while she was in London, none of them stand out. And Crowe is obviously looking into the neighbours and anyone who might have found them at the house. So I think we need to look over everyone in Sanditon again” Charlotte’s annoyance receded and she nodded in agreement. “I think we should organise all the information we have here and go tomorrow morning.” 

They spent the afternoon working diligently, Sidney continued to search for anything that might raise suspicion from Georgiana’s time in London, as well as any contacts of Beecroft, while Charlotte used his laptop to search for information on the residents of Sanditon. They paused only to eat the leftovers from lunch until at eleven o’clock Sidney’s lack of sleep started to catch up with him. After reading the same sentence three times and still not knowing what it was about, he decided to call it a day. He left extra blankets and a pillow for Charlotte and collapsed into his bed. Anxiety about the case weighed down on him, but somehow the presence of Charlotte staying safely just in the next room let him relax enough to fall asleep. Charlotte stayed up until she was sure she had exhausted all the possible options about Sanditon, and resigned herself to the fact that she might need to wait until they arrived the next day to continue the investigation. She tried not to imagine where Georgiana might be spending the night and focused instead on thinking about returning to Sanditon.


	9. Chapter 9

They packed up early, stopped off at the hotel so Charlotte could pick up her bag and check out, and then headed south from London. The sky was darkened by grey clouds which felt appropriate for the anxious mood inside the car. Although they were putting every effort into finding Georgiana, Sidney couldn’t help but think that they really had nothing to go on. Not that he would mention this to Charlotte who had an air of desperate determination about her. He looked away from the road for a moment to see her gazing out the window. 

“A penny for your thoughts Miss Heywood” he asked softly. Charlotte looked as though she was returning from somewhere very far away. 

“Oh, I was just thinking about Georgiana. I had hoped that when I left London we would be together, or at least I would know where she was” she sighed and Sidney reached across to put his hand on her arm. 

“We’ll find her” he said with a conviction that came only from the need to comfort her. He believed what he had said before, that this could only end badly for Charlotte, now more than ever. But there was something about her that couldn’t be denied, perhaps after all they would find Miss Lambe, if only so that Charlotte could get her answers.

“So, tell me about Sanditon” he asked in hope of distracting her from the thoughts made her look so sad. 

“What about it?”

“Well, you’ve been there a while, you know everybody and you saw how they interacted with Miss Lambe. You’re our best resource.” She looked a little startled,

“I don’t know about that. I was sure Otis wouldn’t have done anything to harm Georgiana, and look how that turned out” Sidney looked a little uncomfortable but persevered. 

“As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t believe he ever meant to put her at risk, he had probably convinced himself that even if he didn’t pay off his debts, they would never find Miss Lambe and the consequences would be on him.” Charlotte looked a little heartened by this, and began to tell him all about her time in Sanditon.

The drive was long but Charlotte’s steady narration lasted until they turned on to the cliffside road and Sanditon came into sight ahead. It was beautiful. The jagged cliffs dropped down onto wide sand beaches and hidden pebble coves. The town itself was a cluster of houses and shops sloping down towards the ocean. 

The weather was worse here and they could see a storm brewing on the horizon, flashes of lightning illuminated the rough waves and a sea breeze brought in the rumbles of thunder. Mary rushed out to meet them as Sidney parked in front of Trafalgar House. Charlotte was closest and was pulled into a tight hug. Both women looked on the verge of tears and Mary only broke away from Charlotte to pull Sidney in to a hug too. Tom emerged from the house and greeted Charlotte and Sidney warmly. “Come on let's get in before the storm comes in” Mary urged and they all trailed into the kitchen where the children were waiting excitedly and Mary produced food enough for twenty people.

They set up in Tom’s study, and spent the evening creating a war plan for the next day. They resolved to re-interview all the most closely connected people, whilst keeping an eye out for anyone else who might have cause to take Georgiana. By ten o clock they decided to finish for the day, Charlotte went up to her room and Sidney decided to walk down to the pub. The storm had not quite broken, occasional showers of rain passed through and gusts of wind brought salty air into the town. 

The pub was busier than he was expecting and he spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd. He bought a drink and sat at the only free table in the corner. James Stringer came over almost at once, asking with some concern if he had found Georgiana, and with more concern if Charlotte was back. His face lit up when Sidney confirmed she was, and he patiently answered a series of questions about her wellbeing. 

The effect Charlotte had on the man was obvious and after spending so much time with her Sidney supposed he could understand the attraction. He wondered if Charlotte felt something for Stringer too, he seemed to be the good sort of man she deserved. Sidney considered for a moment whether that thought was heartening or irritating. Stringer invited Sidney to sit with his friends but he declined, knowing that they would want to ask about Miss Lambe and hoping for a break from the case. 

Sidney sat quietly nursing his pint for a while, allowing the festive sounds of the other drinkers wash over him. He was interrupted again a little later by a friendly woman in her early twenties. Her name was Chloe, she had a pretty face framed by straight blonde hair. He bought her a drink and they chatted about nothing. He enjoyed her company, and by the way she was looking at him he was sure she was attracted to him. She was exactly the kind of woman he was usually interested in. Someone fun and carefree, who could help him escape, forget his problems, his past, Miss Lambe and even Charlotte Heywood. It could be just one night, no attachment, no commitment, no risk. 

But something stopped him, he returned to Trafalgar House just before the storm finally broke. As the rain battered down on the windows Sidney tried not to acknowledge the creeping feeling that his decision to go home alone might be based on something more than just not being in the mood. He had always avoided dealing with his emotions and now didn’t seem like the best time to change. Sidney drifted into an uneasy sleep to the sound of the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that not a lot happened in this chapter but we are getting really close to the breakthrough now. Thank you so much to everybody who has read this far, and for all the comments and kudos.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day was bright, blue skies shone down over Sanditon. Mary insisted on a family breakfast so they avoided talk of Georgiana. Charlotte tried to put on a brave face for the children but she knew she wasn’t fooling them. Sidney was a good distraction though, he looked tired but transformed from surly private detective to fun, loving uncle whenever the children were present. In those brief moments Charlotte could see the Sidney Parker that Tom and Mary had always talked about. 

Crowe called to say that forensics had given their report on the Richmond crime scene. The safe had Georgiana Lambe’s fingerprints all over it, but the trajectory of the bullets indicated that there was another shooter.

“Unless she was stood on a chair, which seems unlikely, it wasn’t her” Crowe concluded.

They spent two days interviewing Sanditon residents, frantically searching records and newspaper articles. They followed up every possible lead however unlikely. Then they tried to narrow their search to anyone roughly tall enough to match the murders and anyone who could have been in London on that day. Sidney could see that Charlotte was becoming desperate. He was sure she wasn’t sleeping, she looked exhausted and her still determined expression was now mixed with fear. He tried to focus entirely on finding Georgiana but he still worried about Charlotte more than he would like. He wished he could protect her from whatever they would find (or not find) but they were too far down this road to turn back now. 

Charlotte still held out one last little hope that Georgiana had escaped somewhere with the money from the safe. When everything became too much she forced herself to imagine Georgiana hiding out, maybe back in her homeland of Antigua, hopefully on the beach. Somewhere with better weather than Sanditon. But these fantasies were put to an end by a phone call from Crowe on their third evening in Sanditon. Sidney was alone in the study when he took the call and he knocked on Charlotte’s door a few moments later looking grave. 

“There is some CCTV footage that the police have managed to piece together” he explained “it shows Miss Lambe in the passenger seat of a car that was reported stolen from the same street. They couldn’t get a clear view of the driver but the car was found this morning abandoned just outside London. There was a small amount of blood inside which is a match for Miss Lambe’s blood type. They are running further tests, but the current theory is she is alive and being held captive.” 

Charlotte sat down heavily on the chair beside the little desk and didn’t respond for a moment. Sidney reached over to take her hand 

“Miss Heywood?” He asked gently. It seemed to ground her a little. 

“Do they think she is badly injured?”

“No, it was only a few drops of blood”

“And whoever it is surely will need to keep her alive to get the money”

“If that is their motive, yes”

“Do the police have any idea who it might be?”

“No more than we do. They are going public tomorrow morning to get the word out, they are monitoring all routes out of the country and there will be a cross-county task force created to investigate here and in London. Crowe is going to keep us informed and he’s coming down here tomorrow.”

Charlotte took a shaky breath.

“Ok so we continue narrowing down the list we have, we’re going to find something” 

“Yes,” Sidney agreed and in a show of affection that was quite unusual for him, he pulled her up from the chair and hugged her tightly.

“How do you deal with this?” She didn’t have to explain what she meant. 

“I’m not sure that I do” he tightened his grip around her slightly “why do you think I spend most of my life alone and the rest having meaningless sex with different women?”

They stayed like that for a while, until Charlotte stepped back slightly, just enough to look up into his face. 

“Would you do that for me?” She asked quietly.

“Do what?” 

She raised up onto her toes and reached his mouth with her lips. It was gentle and sweet, he froze and she pulled back after a second.

“Miss Heywood, I- I don’t think-” 

“Please” she looked at him desperately with those big brown eyes and he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist her. She reached up again, and this time he kissed her back. She opened her mouth and the kiss became heated as she brushed her tongue against his bottom lip. He responded with a small bite to hers, something he had been fantasising about whenever he saw her own teeth there as she concentrated. She pulled up his t-shirt needing to feel him, and soon their clothes were left on the floor. She walked backwards towards the bed without breaking their kiss and they fell down onto it. He held himself above her allowing himself to give in to the attraction and kissing all over her body. It was passionate and needy, full of the tension that had always been between them and desperation they had been feeling for the past few days. She drew her nails down his back as he pushed inside her and he revelled in the feeling. They moved together and he saw his feelings reflected back as he looked into her eyes. “Charlotte” he whispered as he found his release.


	11. Chapter 11

Charlotte woke early, the first rays of sunlight were just starting to peak through the gap in the curtains. For a moment she enjoyed the feeling of Sidney’s arms around her. She was safe, cared for. 

She didn’t wake him as she moved out of the bed, he looked peaceful for once. She hadn’t known that sex — sex with him — was what she needed until they did it but for that short time of comfort and passion her worries had been lifted and she only knew the feeling of their bodies. 

The guilt came down upon her heavier than ever as she thought of Georgiana, alone and scared somewhere, while she was sleeping with the hot detective. She needed to keep working. She grabbed her phone and some clothes and went out to shower. 

Their list of possible suspects was stuck to the wall in the study. She would do what they did with the brothel, pick the most likely option and give it a go. But nothing stood out, each man was as unlikely as the next. Her eyes drifted back to the files they had made before. ‘Edward Denham’ stuck out and she picked it back up. He had been in and out of Sanditon since the argument with his aunt. It turned out he had conspired with Clara Brereton to have Lady Denham’s will destroyed, hoping for an automatic three way split of the fortune between them and his step-sister Esther. Lady Denham had found out and disinherited them all.

Charlotte had always found Edward a bit creepy and he had both the means and motive to take Georgiana. He would have been their top suspect, but Esther had given him an alibi for the day of the murders in Richmond…She had seemed a little hesitant though, Charlotte thought, maybe there was more to it. Perhaps if Charlotte spoke to Esther alone, without her step-brother or Sidney or Lady Denham looming over them she would have more to say. Charlotte put the file back on the top of the pile and stuck a quick note on it to let Sidney know where she was. 

Esther was cordial, she gave the impression of her usual attitude of disdain for everyone and everything. 

“I saw the news this morning,” she said after a short silence “they say she definitely has been kidnapped. You were right Charlotte.”

“I was hoping not to be” she replied shortly. 

“Do you suspect me?” Charlotte looked at her closely.

“No, and you’re too short anyway, the police say the person who shot the two men in Richmond would have to be at least 1.8 metres tall”

“Richmond?” 

“Yes, that’s where Georgiana’s house is” Charlotte had thought there was a moment of recognition in Esther’s face, but her expression was as bored as ever. Charlotte had been planning to work up to it slowly, but she thought of Georgiana, and felt reckless.

“Your step-brother would be about that height wouldn’t he?” This time there was definitely a flicker of fear in Esther’s eyes. 

“I suppose so.” She looked away “although the same is true of Tom and Sidney Parker, and Fred Robinson, and a number of other men I am sure.”

“Yes, that’s true” Charlotte conceded. There were twenty-four suspects taller than 1.8 metres on their list. “How did Edward take the news that he was going to be disinherited?”

“Like anyone who had just lost a large fortune would I suppose”

“Specifically though?” 

“He was…very disappointed”

“What did he do or say?”

“He raged a little, he thought it was terribly unfair. Our parents left us very little and he was hoping that our aunt might rectify that when she dies.”

“But surely Lady Denham is unlikely to die soon? She's quite old but she always seems to be so active” Charlotte asked with a frown. 

“Oh she was quite ill a few months ago, just before you arrived in Sanditon. The doctors said she wasn’t going to make it. That’s when Edward and Clara hatched their sordid little plan” her voiced turned bitter as she finished. 

“He betrayed you” Charlotte deduced tentatively, “He schemed with Clara instead of with you”. 

“He betrayed my aunt.” She turned back to Charlotte and wilted a little under her determined stare “I suppose he betrayed both of us. For money. It’s poisonous you know, a fortune like that, like Georgiana’s too. Makes people change, do terrible things. Look at my aunt, her fortune has left her alone in a big house with no one who really cares about her.”

“What do you mean ‘do terrible things'?”

“Well, look what Edward and Clara did” 

“There’s something else too” Charlotte insisted. Esther didn’t answer. 

“He wouldn’t do this” she said finally “I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything to Georgiana, he has a temper sometimes yes, but he wouldn’t go that far”. She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself and Charlotte knew she was getting close to something.

“What do you mean he has a temper?” Esther flinched a little, reflexively wrapping her arms around herself. “Was he violent?”

“No! I mean— he didn’t mean it, just sometimes he got carried away, lost control…I..I provoked him.”

“Esther…” Charlotte began 

“No, I’m sure he didn’t do this, what would he gain anyway, surely there’s no way he could get his hands on her fortune now anyway”

“But he wasn’t with you, on the day you said he was”

“He was…in the morning, but he left in the afternoon to stay with his friend Carter in Richmond.” Charlotte felt a thrill come over her, this was it. It must be him. 

“Where is he now Esther?”

“I don’t know”

“Okay,” said Charlotte patiently. “Can you tell me any ideas as to where he might be, where he liked to go?”  
They continued for a long time, Esther told Charlotte everything she could think of, but nowhere was a possible location to keep Georgiana hidden.

“That is everywhere I can think of in Sanditon or London, anything else would be much further back, before we moved back to Denham Place” Charlotte was surprised, she had thought the Denhams had always lived in Sanditon. “When our parents first met we lived in Ashton Manor, it's further along the coast and a little more inland.”

“It’s not in your property records” 

Esther expressed no surprise that Charlotte had knowledge of her and her brother’s finances and records.

“No, I think it was inherited by a cousin or an uncle or something”. Charlotte pulled out her phone and started searching for Ashton Manor.

“It says it's abandoned now”

“You really think he has Georgiana?”

“Yes, sorry Esther” Charlotte didn’t give her time to absorb this information. “Can you drive me there?”

“What?”

“Please? If he does have her this is our best bet. I can check it out, if there’s no one there, most likely his name is cleared” she added, although she didn’t believe it herself. Esther reluctantly took the keys from a bowl on the side. 

Charlotte wished she could make Esther drive a little faster. At first she had hated Sidney’s excessive speed, but now she felt like they were moving at a snail’s pace. This time, she was determined, she would not miss her chance. She reached for her phone and dialled Sidney’s number as they drove along the winding country road. He didn’t answer, but she didn’t hesitate as they pulled on to the long driveway of Ashton Manor twenty-five minutes later. 

“God I haven’t been here for years” Esther muttered. 

Charlotte made sure Esther stopped before they came into view of the house, and then left her to wait in the car as she crossed over the fence into a field. The line of trees and bushes along the drive might shield her a little from view. She paused for only a moment, wondering if she should wait for Sidney, but surely she could go close enough to have a look? Just to see if there was a sign of Georgiana, and then she’d call him again. Esther was there anyway, so she wasn’t alone. 

She crept towards the manor, it had the aspect of a once grand house that had fallen into disrepair. A couple of windows were broken and ivy grew out of control over the walls. There was a car parked outside the front door and Charlotte’s heart began to beat faster. She edged closer to the nearest window.

She was focused entirely on the tiny gap between the curtains trying to get a glimpse into the dark room, so she didn’t hear the quiet footsteps approaching, or notice the tall figure behind her until a sharp pain broke out across her head and she slipped into inky blackness.


	12. Chapter 12

Detective Crowe rang the doorbell at Trafalgar House just before Sidney’s phone rang. He left the study quickly, eager to hear any new leads Crowe might have. Sidney made tea and they sat together in the kitchen. 

“Where’s your sexy little sidekick?” Was his opening line, Sidney resisted the urge to hit him and answered honestly 

“Following up a lead with Esther Denham apparently, she said she’d be back by this afternoon. What have you got?” he asked directly. 

“Not a lot unfortunately, we pushed ahead with the press conference this morning at the request of the DCC but I’m not happy about it. If someone is holding her for her fortune he’s about to find out that’s definitely not an option anymore. Everything’s been frozen”

“So no reason to keep her alive” Sidney finished grimly. 

“Yes, our only hope, and fear, is that he’s just an unhinged psycho who wanted her for some other reason”

“Did you find anything new?”

“No, they still haven’t been able to work out what kind of gun was used in the shooting, so it will be something unusual at least, could be an antique.”

Crowe left not long after he came and Sidney returned to the study. He saw the missed call almost an hour later. He hadn’t make much progress, his only thought was that the most likely place to find an antique gun would be Sanditon House or Denham Place. Esther and Clara were too short, Lady Denham was too old, and Edward had an alibi. He wondered whether Charlotte had found anything new talking to Esther. He called her back but her phone went straight to answerphone. Maybe she had turned it off to talk with Esther. 

Sidney went back to the list while he waited and started narrowing down the suspects. Surely it couldn’t be the baker, he might have been tall but he had only ever seen Georgiana twice. He crossed the name off, one down, twenty-three to go. He tried Charlotte again half an hour later, still nothing. Maybe she didn’t want to talk to him after last night. The thought worried him. He had been disappointed to wake up alone that morning, but knew that now was not a good time to think about what was going on between them. He just wanted to give Charlotte whatever she needed. Trying to shake off those thoughts, he noticed Edward Denham’s file was on top of the stack of papers, perhaps that’s why Charlotte had gone to Denham Place. He read through the file again, and then tried calling Esther. Her phone rang, unlike Charlotte’s, but there was no answer. 

It was getting dark, and Sidney was getting worried. Even if she was avoiding him, surely she would at least check in with him, about the case? 

“Hello” Mary called as she came through the front door herding the children in ahead of her. She was a little shocked when Sidney came rushing out of the study. 

“You haven’t seen Charlotte have you?”

“No, not today, I’ve been out since this morning, why?”

“She said she’d be back by now and I just keep getting her answerphone, could you try? Oh god, I thought maybe she was avoiding me but-” Mary had never seen him look so worried. She pulled out her phone immediately and found Charlotte’s number. 

“No, Sidney, it must be switched off.” He swore and picked up his car keys 

“Can you call Crowe? Ask if he’s seen her” he was out of the door before she could reply. 

He drove so fast that the journey to Denham Place only took five minutes. He banged on the door but the house was dark and there was no car outside. He tried Esther’s number again and heard it ringing. Peering through the window he saw the phone flashing on the table. Everything else was dark and quiet. Starting to panic, Sidney got back into his car and drove towards the town. His phone started ringing and he grabbed it hopefully.

“Charlotte?” 

“Did you find her?” Mary’s worried voice came through. 

“No, and Esther’s not here either, can you check with Lady Denham?”

“I’ll call her now” she hung up. Sidney pulled into the temporary offices Crowe and the other detectives had taken for the investigation. He caused a stir when he first ran in, but Crowe had already spoken to Mary and was coordinating a search. Sidney refused to sit but explained everything he knew as he paced the ugly carpet in Crowe's office.

“So it must be Edward Denham” Crowe concluded “the only question is whether Esther is working with him or if she’s in danger too”. Sidney ran his hands through his hair. “Collins!” Crowe shouted and a young woman appeared in the doorway “find out where Edward Denham is keeping Georgiana Lambe”. Collins took the news that Edward Denham was the suspect in her stride and within seconds she was back at the computer screen typing furiously. 

They set to work, uniformed police officers headed out into the town to search for the women, and the detectives sat in the office trying to narrow down their possible destination. Sidney tried to push aside the cold dread which had settled over him and focus on the task at hand. Midnight passed without much progress, and the officers who had been out searching returned without success. 

Just after one am they connected Edward’s phone records with his childhood home. Crowe called in officers from the next town and they headed to their cars. Sidney arrived first and was heading straight into the house before Crowe arrived and pulled him back. 

“We can’t risk fucking this up Parker, if you go in now you're risking her and everyone else.” Sidney tried to take control of himself but was quickly spiralling in to panic and self-hate. How could he let this happen? Why the fuck did he let her work with him? Why didn’t he look for her sooner? What if he never saw her again? 

Crowe’s team knocked down the front door, and a rush of people filed in. Time seemed to slow down as Sidney watched from a distance. It felt like an eternity before Crowe came back out and waved him over. He raced down the long drive coming to a stop outside the door as Georgiana Lambe was helped through it. She looked thin and tired with a cut on her forehead. Esther followed looking scared but otherwise unhurt. Charlotte would be next, she would walk out of the door.

After a moments hesitation he couldn’t wait any longer. He strode into the house looking through the doorways until he found the room filled with police. He saw the ropes cut open where the two women must have been tied to the radiator. Charlotte’s phone was smashed on the floor. It looked like there had been a struggle, a broken chair lay to one side and there was some blood on the floor. An icy feeling pierced his heart at the sight of the blood and he hoped to god it wasn’t hers. He checked in every room of the house to be sure, but there were no more signs of Charlotte, or Edward Denham. 

“Parker!” Crowe called out to Sidney urgently as he left the house, he was emerging from an ambulance where the two women sat. “He took her out half an hour ago. He said thought he could get away with the whole thing, that he would make it look like an accident.” Fear threatened to cloud Sidney’s mind but he thought hard. Where would he take her? How would he think was the best way to kill her? He came to a clear conclusion. There were two obvious options; the sea and the cliffs. There were a few spots along the shore outside Sanditon with the grim reputation for suicides and it was unfortunately common on the coast that people got caught in the currents or the incoming tide. He shuddered at the thought of either of these alternatives. If Edward Denham went for the cliffs there was no way they would get there in time, but an instinct — perhaps only a last bleak hope — told him that Edward Denham would want the control of doing it himself. 

“He’s going to try to drown her” he said to Crowe. 

As soon as he could feel his legs again Sidney was running to his car. He took the fastest route towards the coast and drove along towards Sanditon until his lights reflected back off a car parked on the top of the cliff. Sidney jumped out and peered into the darkness. There was no sign of anyone on the cliff tops so he scrambled down the path. It was steep and rocky in places and he slipped twice as he tried to reach the end. 

He finally arrived on a small beach, enclosed by rough cliffs on either side. Large rocks jutted out from the sand and he could see shapes moving in the dark water. Please don’t let me be too late, he thought desperately. Sidney waded out as fast as he could, as he got closer he could make out Edward Denham. He had his hands on Charlotte trying to force her under but she was kicking out and fighting back. Sidney was filled with rage and fear, he launched himself towards the man. Edward turned at the sound of Sidney approaching and tried to drag Charlotte deeper into the water. Sidney caught him on the shoulder and dragged him back, but Edward would not give up. 

There was a scramble of arms and legs in the water as the two men struggled to gain dominance. Edward grabbed Sidney around the neck and pushed him under, he choked as the salt water burned his throat but managed to close his fist around Edwards hair. He pulled hard and then elbowed the other man’s arm. He was forced to release Sidney who broke through the surface gasping for air. One hand still on Edward’s head Sidney dragged him backwards. He righted himself and put all his strength into the punch. It landed hard on Edward’s jaw. Sidney only saw the man’s eyes roll back before he was swimming out again to find Charlotte. She was just under the surface a short distance away. She was not moving. 

He pulled her onto the beach just as he heard the voices coming from the rough path. Her eyes were closed and her chest was still. Sidney felt like he was in a nightmare. He scrambled up and pushed down on her chest counting out the compressions. “Come on, Charlotte” He blew air into her mouth. He didn’t notice as people appeared around him and somebody splashed into the waves to pull out the unconscious Edward. Sidney’s entire body was focused only on Charlotte, his whole world revolved around her. He pressed down on her chest. “Please breathe.” 

Paramedics arrived and firm hands pulled him back, he didn’t even notice Crowe beside him as they took over. His view was obscured as the paramedics rushed to insert tubes for oxygen. They pulled her onto a board and the police officers helped carry her back up the path. Nobody stopped him as he climbed into the ambulance after her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a little bit late today, especially leaving you all on a cliffhanger, I had a busy morning and didn't have time to upload before. Hope you enjoy it, thank you as always for the lovely comments and kudos.

He didn’t take his eyes off her until they arrived at the hospital. It was a short journey that felt like an eternity. He watched the paramedic pushing oxygen into her lungs waiting for some sign that she was going to be ok. They rushed in to A&E and Sidney was left staring after her as she was whisked away out of sight.

“Excuse me, Sir. Sir!” Sidney looked round to see a nurse speaking to him. “If you’ll just come with me sir I can have a look at your injuries” 

“I’m not hurt” he managed in a raspy voice. She pointed to his head, 

“You’re bleeding, and you’re dripping water on the floor so I’ll have to ask you to come with me.” He changed into a hospital gown and then sat impatiently, a doctor came to examine him briefly and then the nurse cleaned and dressed his wound. “There you go Mr Parker, you’re all set” 

“Can you tell me what happened to Charlotte Heywood?” He demanded.

“Are you family?”

“Just a friend, I came in with her”

“I’ll see what I can do.” She left and Sidney was alone with his uncomfortable thoughts until Tom and Mary pulled back the curtain.

“Oh Sidney thank god!” Mary hugged him and even Tom looked like he might be about to follow her example until Sidney asked roughly

“Have you seen Charlotte?” 

They shook their heads, “They said she’s being moved to intensive care but wouldn’t tell us anything else yet” Tom supplied. She was in intensive care. So she was alive.

“I called her parents,” Mary said with a shaky voice “they said they’ll be here as soon as they can” There was an uneasy pause before Mary seemed to try to get a hold of herself “here Sidney, they said we should bring you some clothes, we’ll let you change”. She took Tom’s hand and they retreated back behind the curtain. Sidney stood shakily, the adrenalin of the fight was beginning to wear off and he could feel the aches across his body as well as the dull pounding of his head. He had just finished changing when the nurse appeared again.

“Ah Mr Parker, good to see you back on your feet.” He nodded and then regretted it as his head seemed to pound even harder. “We’re happy to discharge you, as long as you’ve got someone to keep an eye on you, you have some signs of a mild concussion. You can take paracetamol for the pain, and if you have any nausea contact your GP or call 111. Make sure you keep that cut clean and dry for a few days but it should be fine after that. Your friend Charlotte is in intensive care, you can go to the waiting room where you came in and someone will come to give you more information as soon as we have it.” 

The wait was excruciating. Tom, Mary, and Sidney sat without speaking. It was early in the morning and the hospital was not crowded. They watched the flow of patients coming in and out, some on trolleys, some wrapped in blankets. The shift changed, and the young woman behind the counter was replaced by a middle aged man. Crowe found them in the waiting room, he looked a bit bedraggled after the nights events, his long hair was messy and his suit a little crumpled. He let them know that Georgiana Lambe and Esther Denham were more or less fine according to the hospital, Georgiana would be kept in for observation and Esther had already been released. 

“Did she help him?” Sidney demanded 

“We’ll look into it, and we need a statement from Charlotte Heywood and Edward Denham, but according to both women she helped your girl find the house. He knocked Charlotte out and threatened Esther with the gun. It's from the 1950s apparently, belonged to his father, Esther said she recognised it. Denham has a friend who lives on the same street as Georgiana in Richmond, he spotted her and the other two by chance and thought he could get his hands on her fortune instead of his aunt’s. He had lost it completely by the time Esther and Charlotte arrived but he seemed to think he could still get his hands on the money, kill Charlotte and use Esther as an alibi”

“And what about him? Where is he now?” Sidney asked with hostility. 

“Half drowned with a concussion but it looks like he’ll live to see the inside of a cell.” Sidney couldn’t say he was particularly relieved not to have killed the man but he wasn’t going to spend any more time thinking about him. “I’ll need you to give a statement Parker”

“Can’t it wait?” Mary asked irritably with a concerned look at her brother-in-law.

“No, it's fine, I’ll do it now. It's better than sitting here anyway.” They moved to a more secluded spot and Crowe waved over another detective to take notes. Sidney only wanted to have to do it once so he was thorough. He explained his job and his interest in the case, everything that had happened since he realised Charlotte was missing and how he had found the beach. “My priority was to stop him attacking Miss Heywood, so I pulled him away and incapacitated him. She was already unconscious in the water so I got her out and performed CPR. That’s when you lot and the paramedics arrived to aid Miss Heywood and Mr Denham” he finished dully. The detective thanked him and they stood. Sidney returned to Tom and Mary, while Crowe gave instructions to the remaining police officers. 

A doctor emerged not long after  
“You’re waiting for Charlotte Heywood?” They stood quickly and eagerly confirmed that they were. “She has mild hypothermia, and a few broken ribs from the CPR,” Sidney shifted guiltily as the doctor continued “but it saved her life. She’s currently stable but as we don’t know exactly how long her brain was without oxygen we won’t know what damage there is until she wakes up”

“But she will wake up?”

“We believe so, yes.” The group let out a collective sigh of relief. “She had a bit of a nasty blow to the head and there were some other more minor injuries, cuts and bruises mainly, but the biggest concern is the hypoxia. It may be a while until she wakes up but you can sit with her if you wish.” They followed the doctor to the second floor where he pointed them through a door and onto the ward. Mary and Tom rushed straight to her bed, Mary fussing and Tom placing a hand on her arm. Sidney stopped in the doorway, he didn’t know if he could go any closer. She looked so small and fragile in the bed, her face was half covered by a ventilator and she had one black eye.

“Sidney why don’t you go and get some rest?” Tom suggested causing Mary to look at her husband as though he’d grown a second head. She took in Sidney’s expression and then announced

“I need to call Charlotte’s parents to give them an update, Tom would you mind coming with me?”

“Of course, Mary”

“You’ll sit with her Sidney, I don’t want her to be alone” She gave him a gentle nudge towards the bed and dragged Tom out of the room. 

Sidney approached the bed cautiously, as though approaching a cornered animal that might lash out. He finally sat, pulling the chair close to the bed and taking her hand. He could see her injuries more clearly from here, cuts and bruises marred her skin. “I’m sorry” he said quietly, unsure if she could hear him but needing to say it all the same.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you wait for this chapter, real life got in the way unfortunately. I should be back to daily updates for the last few chapters now though, thank you to everyone who is following along and commenting.

Charlotte was unconscious for two days. They moved her to a busier ward after the first six hours, but Sidney stayed by her side. He held her hand, staring into her face as though he could make her better just by the power of his concentration. He slept briefly in the chair with his head resting on the bed and his hand still covering hers, smaller and lifeless. During visiting hours other people came in and out. Mary and Tom alternated long shifts by her side in between looking after their children. Charlotte’s parents couldn’t travel until they had someone to look after the younger children and once Mary had assured them Charlotte was doing well and she would keep them updated, they decided to wait before visiting their daughter. Various people from the town passed through, Esther and Lady Denham, James Stringer. Flowers and cards crowded the table in the corner. Charlotte had obviously made quite an impression in the relatively short time she had lived in Sanditon, but Sidney barely noticed anyone except her. Georgiana gained a small amount of his attention when she visited. It was almost surreal to see the person they had been obsessing about for weeks in real life. She looked a little shaky but in good condition considering her ordeal. It gave him some small satisfaction to see that Charlotte was right in the end. Her relentless determination had paid off. She did find her friend.

Sidney, keeping his vigil at her side, was roused by the feeling of her fingers moving in his hand. It was such a small movement that at first he couldn’t be sure whether he had imagined it, but then he saw one of her legs move too. He called over a nurse who looked over Charlotte and the machines beside her and then called for the doctor. By the time the doctor arrived she was starting to look a lot more alive. She turned her head slightly and groaned. Her eyes half-opened blearily. Sidney was on his feet immediately, looking for something he could do to help. 

“No” her voice came out a hoarse moan. 

“Charlotte, it's ok, you’re safe”

“Sidney” He felt like his heart would burst out of his chest “I’m right here Charlotte” he put his hand on her cheek gently on the side without the black eye. She seemed to relax once more, and after a few moments quiet Sidney sat back down.

“Its likely that she will wake up soon” the doctor confirmed “we’ll have to see what she’s like when she’s awake but it's a good sign that she’s already been able to talk.” Sidney took a breath and it felt like the first since he had realised she was missing. He watched her closely and sat up beside her as hope began to spread through him. 

He was roused again by the arrival of Charlotte’s parents, they looked terrified and her mother started to cry when she saw her. Sidney stood quickly and offered her the chair closest to the bed. They should have some time alone with their daughter. He felt even more guilt wash over him as he thought about how close they had come to never seeing her again. How could he tell them that he had been complicit in her tracking down a murderer alone? He explained what the doctor had said, took one last longing look at the woman in the bed, and finally took his leave. He was still stiff from his own injuries combined with two days sat in a hospital chair, but felt much lighter in spite of his guilt. She was waking up. She was going to be ok. 

“Sidney!” Tom exclaimed as he walked into Trafalgar House.

“What happened?” Mary asked anxiously “Is Charlotte-” 

“She’s starting to wake up, her parents are with her”

“Excellent news!” Cried Tom, Mary looked at him skeptically. 

“How are you Sidney?” 

“Oh, I’m fine, I have quite a lot to do, I think I ought to go and see Crowe”

“In London?”

“Yeah, would you mind letting me know how it goes when she wakes up?” 

“Don’t you think it would be better to-”

“I doubt she’ll notice if I’m not there, I’ll be back in a few days anyway.” Mary frowned but let him go. He packed up his bag and cleared away the papers from the investigation which seemed to have exploded over Tom’s study. Within half an hour he was on the road.


	15. Chapter 15

Charlotte woke up gradually. Her parents took to her bedside with as much vigour as Sidney had, so she was never alone when she managed to open her eyes. Mary dropped in to see her several times a day and was relieved to see her looking better with each visit. The day after Sidney left she was awake enough to do most of the cognitive tests. She was a little groggy and confused sometimes but the doctors thought she would have no lasting effects.

In the first few days Charlotte was still fuzzy about the details of what had happened. She felt a lot better after she saw for herself that Georgiana was all right, and Esther had come to visit her too. The Parkers told her that Edward Denham had been released from hospital and was under arrest for murder and kidnapping amongst other charges. But where was Sidney? Her last blurry memory before waking up in the hospital was him being pushed under the waves. At first she worried that something happened to him. The first full sentence she managed was asking if he was ok. Her parents looked a little confused and Mary answered

“He’s fine, everyone is fine, Charlotte dear. He got called away to London, he’ll be back soon” 

It wasn’t long before Charlotte was discharged from the hospital. Her parents wanted to take her straight back to Willingden with them, but it was decided that she would stay in Trafalgar House for at least a few weeks so she wouldn’t have to travel with the broken ribs which were painful every time she moved. Mary had worried about what the Heywoods would think, they had let Charlotte stay with her and she ended up in hospital. But once she had the energy to tell her parents what happened Charlotte explained to them how all the Parkers had tried to stop her but she had insisted on finding Georgiana. Knowing how stubborn she could be, and unable to resist the Parkers warmth and kindness, their disapproval waned. 

Charlotte promised to call them with regular updates and so her parents left her in the care of Tom and Mary and returned to Willingden without their daughter. Mary fussed and built up Charlotte’s strength with delicious home cooked meals. Tom kept her spirits up, chattering away happily, and made sure his children didn’t accidentally hurt Charlotte in any overenthusiastic attempts at nursing. Georgiana and Esther, both a little traumatised but surviving nonetheless, came to visit her almost every day.

In her first tearful visit to Trafalgar house Georgiana told her everything that had happened. Being taken by Beecroft’s men, being sold to the next men who frightened her into telling them about the safe in her house in Richmond, watching them die and thinking that Edward Denham had come to help. Esther didn’t speak of her own experience with her step-brother, but Charlotte and Georgiana had seen enough to be convinced that it wasn’t a happy one. Charlotte recounted her own story of how she and Sidney had followed the trail to Edward Denham and then they tried to put the horrible ordeal behind them. They visited regularly in the first few days Charlotte was confined to the sofa at Trafalgar house. A tight bond had developed between them in those awful circumstances. They all found it was good to have someone to confide in, someone who understood. 

In spite of what she had been through Charlotte was happy to be back at Trafalgar House, but she couldn’t help feeling a little put out. After everything that had happened Sidney hadn’t even bothered to see if she was ok. They had spent every waking hour together during the investigation and she had got used to him always being around. Obviously she would have to get over it, she hadn’t expected to see him all the time now, but not even one visit? Not even a phone call? Maybe he didn’t want to see her, she thought with some concern. He had made it clear at the start that he wanted nothing to do with her. She remembered with embarrassment that the last time she had seen him she had essentially begged him for sex, which had been fantastic, but now the begging part was a little humiliating. Probably he regretted the whole thing. Under the pressure of finding Georgiana she had fooled herself into thinking they had a connection, but he must have just taken pity on her. Perhaps she had become one of the many women whose names he only sometimes remembered. Charlotte wasn’t going to mope though, she allowed herself one day to wallow in the rejection and then tried to focus on the fact that she had helped catch a criminal and saved her friend.


	16. Chapter 16

Sidney had been in London for five days before he made any progress. He was having a terrible time. He had tried so hard to keep her out but somehow Charlotte had wormed his way into his life. His flat felt empty. When he returned he had found the blankets and pillow on the sofa where Charlotte had slept, but now it was as though she had never even been there. Occasionally he wondered if it had been some terrible, beautiful dream. 

Mary had sent him a few updates when Charlotte woke up, when she got the test results, when she was discharged; but apart from that he didn’t know how she was doing. A large part of him wasn’t going to believe she was really ok until he saw her for himself. He was fairly sure though, that however much he was dying to see her, she would be getting on just fine without him. He had come to terms with the fact that he had fallen for her. Two days in a hospital chair staring at someone’s unconscious body will do that for you. But he also knew that she didn't feel the same way, and even if she was interested in him, he was not the kind of person a woman like Charlotte would fall for. He was broken, and she was whole. Perhaps with a few scratches around the edges after recent events, but whole. Surely she would fall for someone cheerful and easy going like James Stringer. He had resigned himself to this, but couldn’t help knowing that he was trying to do what Charlotte would consider to be the right thing. A part of him still wanted to be the kind of person she could love. The kind of person he was before Eliza and the deaths of his parents. That’s why he was in London. 

Although the hideous people who had bought Miss Lambe were dead, Beecroft - and whoever was running the operation above him - was still free to make anyone else’s life a misery. How many of those women in the brothel had been free to choose their fate? He wanted to be able to tell Georgiana and Charlotte that everybody who had contributed to their suffering had been dealt with. Now that he knew about the extent of Beecroft’s organisation he couldn’t let it go. 

On day five, his luck finally changed. He had been collecting all the evidence he could get his hands on and pulling in every favour, but on day five it got serious. He managed to persuade someone close to Beecroft to start talking. By the time he had finished Sidney knew where to find records of all the financial transactions, properties, and even some ‘off the books’ _more_ illegal dealings like with Georgiana. He called Crowe and within hours Beecroft was under arrest and almost the whole operation was shut down. Sidney was one of the first to be able to review the evidence and he quickly found what he was looking for. Beecroft answered to a man identified in the documents only identified as 'Perico'. He spent some long hours working with Collins at Scotland Yard and at last they had a name. After that it was out of his hands. He breathed a sigh of relief, went home, and slept for ten hours. 

On day seven, Sidney pulled up outside Trafalgar House. He was uncharacteristically nervous. He was anxious to see Charlotte but he had no idea how she might react. How must she be feeling after everything she had been through? Did she want to see him? Would she be annoyed that he hadn’t spoken to her since the hospital? Was it worse if she was angry or if she didn’t care at all? 

If she didn’t care, he decided as he spotted her lying on the sofa. She had a blanket over her legs and was reading what looked like a very dense book. 

“You look better” 

It was an understatement, the sight of her wide awake and breathing on her own was incomparable to how she had been when he had last seen her in the hospital. He took in the fading bruises and the colour which had returned to her cheeks. He couldn’t work out from her expression which one it was, indifferent or angry, so he walked in to the room and sat in the armchair closest to her. 

“Oh, Mr Parker, I wasn’t expecting you” she replied coolly. Angry then, he thought, and somehow it was a great relief.

“I’m sorry I had to go back to London so soon” he said honestly.

“It’s ok you didn’t have to stick around”

“Did you see the news this morning?”

“About Beecroft, yeah" 

“The work you did was really helpful for building the case”

“You mean you went to take down Beecroft without me?” She sounded offended now in spite of her intention to remain distant. She looked at him sharply and he was relieved to see the fire in her eyes. 

“Well…yeah, sorry. I wasn’t sure you’d be up for taking down organised crime networks after three days lying unconscious in the hospital”

“It was only two and a half” she said sulkily and turned back to her book. He sighed and decided he ought to be a little more direct. 

“I did think it was important to go to London, I…I thought that’s what you’d do, and I _did_ want to be there when you woke up but…” he hesitated again and she put her book down to look at him. “I didn’t know if you’d want to see me” he finished quietly. 

“Of course I wanted to see you, you idiot, but how was I supposed to tell you what I wanted when you weren’t here?” He looked cheered and ashamed at the same time. 

“You could have called?” He tried without much conviction. 

“Sorry I would have, but my phone got smashed by a psycho murderer” He chuckled and they were relieved to find that they could laugh about it.

“I missed you” he admitted “its really quiet without you around being annoying and getting in the way while I’m trying to investigate”

“I’m surprised you got anything done, I thought you’d just be sulking and refusing to investigate in between visits from beautiful nameless women.” Well, he couldn’t really argue with that one, at least she was joking with him now. “So how did you get Beecroft?” She asked with genuine curiosity, and he was happy to recount the tale as long as it meant he could stay with her. Enjoying her company and taking in that she was really okay. They talked for a while about different things skirting the topic he wanted to discuss until finally he moved to sit next to her on the sofa. 

“How are you Charlotte?” The use of her first name instantly reminded her of the last time she’d heard him say it, when they were in bed together. She blushed a little at the memory but answered easily.

“I’m a bit achy and my ribs hurt whenever I move, or breathe, but I’m ok”

“I’m sorry about your ribs”

“Well, it wasn’t your fault-” she stopped at the guilty look on his face

“In my defence the doctor said it did help”

"I thought you were being beaten up by Edward?”

“Only a little, but it took too much time to get rid of him” he said with emotion, “I pulled you out but you were… I thought I was too late” he finished almost in a whisper. 

“Its okay, I’m fine” she took his hand and he felt a thrill at the touch “because you saved me apparently” there was a pause. “When I woke up and you weren’t there I thought something had happened to you” she admitted “the last thing I could remember was him pushing you under.” Tears threatened to spill over, but she got control of herself. “It was really scary, all of it.”

“Yeah it was” he agreed “part of me is sorry I ever agreed to work with you, maybe if I had managed to persuade you not to…” he trailed off and then started again “it was horrible, but you did it Charlotte, you found her, just like you said you would” She smiled 

“And it ended badly for me, just like you said it would. I suppose we’re even” 

The children arrived home with Tom, and Sidney and Charlotte spent the rest of the afternoon in more lighthearted conversation. Sidney atoned for his absence by trying to keep her amused in between bringing cups of tea and cooking dinner. He was finding it hard to stick to his resolve not to try anything romantic with Charlotte. She was almost irresistible after he hadn’t seen her for seven days, and he hadn’t seen her awake for what felt like much longer. But he didn’t want to lose her entirely, if he tried something more he knew that was likely. Even if she would be interested in him, she needed time to heal. He also had to deal with his own issues. So he tried to focus on being her friend and went to bed alone every night trying not to think of how she had looked as she moved underneath him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, a bit of a late chapter today. Thank you so much to all the comments and kudos its nice to see that people have been enjoying it so far. We are getting quite close to the end now!

Sidney watched Charlotte carefully. She read stories to the children, chatted with Mary and Tom, had long visits from Georgiana and Esther, and hung out with him. Apart from a slight frustration with being confined to the house she seemed cheerful and bright. Had the first week out of hospital really been enough to deal with that trauma? Sidney looked out for any signs that she might be struggling but found nothing. 

Georgiana however, was confined to her house except for the times she made the effort to visit Charlotte, which was happening less and less now that Charlotte was getting back on her feet. She was irritable with everybody and didn’t seem to be eating or sleeping well. Sidney was worried about her, he knew that her guardian was likely to organise some kind of rehabilitation but he had taken the liberty of inviting a psychologist to meet with her. Lord Babington was an old friend from school and specialised in treating trauma. Maybe it was the new impulse to do the right thing that Charlotte seemed to have sparked, but Georgiana really deserved the best after what she’d been through. The thought that perhaps Charlotte would agree to talk to him too eased his mind a little.

“I hope you don’t think I’m meddling?” He asked cautiously as he told Charlotte his plan. “And I think maybe you should see him too, you’ve been through a lot.” Charlotte took him by surprise as she suddenly enveloped him in a hug. He breathed her in and enjoyed the brief feeling. 

“Thank you” she whispered. It was his concern for Georgiana rather than herself that was so touching. Not too long ago he’d been determinedly avoiding everyone and refusing to take an interest, and now he was going out of his way to make sure someone he barely knew had a therapist. 

Sidney let the unexpected emotion of the moment lead him and he looked at her seriously. 

“Charlotte, I… I am far from perfect, but I think I am my best self, my truest self when I’m with you.”

“I think she’s doing really well, considering, but I thought that you might be able to help” Sidney explained as Babington arrived at Georgiana’s house. Babington turned to look at him curiously.  
“What’s with you Parker?”  
“What?”  
“Somethings different about you” Sidney shrugged “did you finally follow my advice and get some therapy yourself?”  
“I’ll leave you to it then” Sidney evaded as they reached the door “pub after?” Babington agreed and Sidney left him to enter the house alone. 

That evening Charlotte arrived at the pub to find Esther, Sidney, Babington and Crowe at the corner table. It was her first night out since before Georgiana’s disappearance. She walked slowly, trying not to jar her ribs, but ordered a pint and sat down at the table happily with the rest. 

“Are you sure you’re ok there? I can get them to find you a cushion or something?” Sidney fussed a little. 

“I’m fine, Sidney” she replied with a roll of her eyes, but she smiled at him reassuringly. 

“Charlotte I almost didn’t recognise you, you look much better” Crowe interrupted. The last time he had seen her was when she was loaded into the ambulance. 

“Thanks, I feel much better” she smiled “how are you? I heard you got Beecroft and his boss”

“Oh yeah it all went down very smoothly, between Parker and Collins I didn’t have to do very much.” Sidney relaxed, and Charlotte made a start on her pint. Charlotte, Sidney and Crowe talked about the investigation and Beecroft, while Babington made a valiant attempt to flirt with a disdainful Esther.

“Does he know what happened to her?” Charlotte leaned in to whisper to Sidney. 

“Yeah but he says she’s irresistible” he laughed, Charlotte smiled

“Well I hope he likes a challenge, I think Esther has sworn off men after how her step-brother treated her.” She took another sip of her drink but didn’t move back, Sidney could feel the warmth of her body so close to his own.

“Charlotte! I can’t believe you’re here” Sidney inwardly groaned as James Stringer bounded over. Charlotte’s face lit up at the sight of him which only worsened Sidney’s mood. He reminded himself of his resolution to be friends and want what’s best for her so he took a breath and calmed down.

“Why don’t you join us?”

“Oh no its okay, the guys are waiting for me over there” he nodded to a table across the room and Charlotte waved to the group. “Next time I’ll buy you a drink and we can catch up, I feel like I’ve hardly seen you since you’ve been back.” Charlotte agreed and James made his way back over to his friends. 

“So, Sidney how long are you planning to stay in Sanditon?” Esther asked in an out of character attempt to make conversation. 

“I don’t know really, it's been quite nice to get away from the city for a while, spend time with the family. I’ll probably stick around until an interesting case comes up in London”

“Sidney doesn’t actually _have_ to work” Babington laughed.

“Says _Lord_ Babington” Sidney retorted. Crowe bought another round and Charlotte and Esther laughed along as the men tried to embarrass each other with stories from their school days.

“I’ll walk you back” Charlotte said as Esther stood much later. 

“Are you sure you can make it?”

“Let’s all go” Babington proposed. 

“It’s really only up the road” Esther said. She’d moved into a flat above a shop in the high street. She said Denham Place was too big and spooky and reminded her of Edward. They all traipsed out of the pub together and up to Esther’s flat. Sidney, Crowe and Charlotte said goodnight and retreated a short distance while Babington tried to get Esther’s number. It was a clear night, they could sea the stars and the moonlight reflecting off the waves. After Charlotte had gone to find Edward Denham she’d not even known if she would live, let alone spend the night out with her friends and be able to see this beautiful view. She stopped for a moment to take it all in. 

Charlotte shivered a little and Sidney noticed immediately 

“Chilly, Heywood?” 

He put his jacket round her shoulders and used it as an excuse to leave his arm there as they started back to drop Crowe off at the hotel. Babington caught up with them not long afterwards with a big grin and the news that Esther had agreed he could send her messages as long as he didn’t expect a reply.


	18. Chapter 18

“He sends me messages every day”

“And what do you do?”

“Nothing”

“Are they nice messages?”

“Yes”

“So why don’t you reply?”

“I don’t want to lead him on”

“Georgiana says he’s been really helpful”

“Hmm”

“And Sidney says he’s a really good guy”

“What’s going on with you and Sidney anyway?” Charlotte was a little suspicious of the change of subject but let it go. She though Babington would be good for Esther but didn’t want to push her if she wasn’t ready. Charlotte was almost completely recovered and was making the most of it by joining Esther in town and getting some fresh air on her way to visit Georgiana.

She didn’t know how long Sidney was planning to stay but she had decided to just enjoy it while it lasted. She felt a little bit confused about him, they had been getting on even better since he came back from London, but he seemed to be holding back a little. Perhaps he saw that she had feelings for him and didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. But then he’d said he was his truest self with her. What did that even mean? He was still a conundrum. It was nice to have someone to hang out with while Tom and Mary were out working though, and Sidney was good company now he had stopped trying to push her away. She was relieved to find that they still got on well outside of investigating and without the stress of Georgiana’s kidnapping looming over them. 

“We’re just hanging out while neither of us has anything to do”

“Oh really?” Esther’s tone dripped with disbelief and she raised her eyebrows.

“No seriously we-”

“Charlotte” her tone this time left no room for evasion. Charlotte sighed, 

“Fine, we slept together, the night before…everything, but it was…”

“It wasn’t good?” Esther said with audible surprise

“No, it was incredible. Just, I was upset and we were both really stressed and it was kind of… a result of the circumstances I think, he… I know that he just wants to be friends” 

“But you like him”

“Yeah” she blushed.

“You’re both being completely stupid” Esther declared.

“Wow thank you, really nice”

“Seriously Charlotte, I say this as a friend. Can’t you see the way he looks at you, like the sun shines out of your arse and/or he’s holding himself back from ripping your clothes off.”

“Lovely imagery” Charlotte said sarcastically but she was considering Esther’s words. He had been more attentive recently, but that didn’t mean he had feelings for her. Mostly it was due to his irrational guilt about breaking her ribs. 

“Charlotte, he fought off my psycho step-brother, pulled you out of the ocean, gave you CPR, and then sat holding your hand at the hospital for two days until he was sure you were going to wake up. People are not that intense out of friendship.”

“He was at the hospital?”

“Didn’t you know? Thank god you woke up, he looked like he was going to lose his mind. I don’t think he even noticed when I came in he was so focused on you. Mary said he barely ate anything and slept in the chair.”

“Since when do you and Mary discuss Sidney?”

“He was acting really weird” she replied defensively. “Sorry Charlotte, I have to go, I said I’d visit my aunt today.” She left Charlotte standing bewildered in Sanditon High Street.

Charlotte came down to breakfast a few days later to find Sidney and Mary in the kitchen.

“Coffee dear?” Mary asked, Charlotte gratefully accepted and started making toast while Sidney and Mary continued their conversation about the children. “What are you two up to today then?” Mary asked as she got up to leave. 

“I’m going to walk into town in a bit, anything you need?” Sidney asked, Mary declined and he looked to Charlotte. 

“Oh I’m heading in to get some things from the newsagents, maybe I could walk with you?” 

“Perfect” An uneasiness had returned between them over the past few days and they both felt a little awkward. Frozen with indecision and anticipation they just looked at each other until Mary broke in. 

“Well, off you go then you two” They jumped a little and stood to leave. 

Sidney didn’t really know where he was going, he was feeling far too aware of the woman walking beside him. They wandered aimlessly until they reached the beach. Crossing along the wide stretch of sand with the sea breeze blowing Charlotte’s hair wildly. He tried to make some conversation as they turned to climb up a favourite rough path to the cliff tops. 

“Nice day”

“Yeah, lovely”

“How are your parents?”

“They’re good thanks, I called them last night.” 

“Any news?”

“Not really”

“Well, nothing ever happens in Willingden of course”

She nodded and smiled and another pause followed. Sidney thought about what Babington and Crowe had told him. Stop being an idiot and make a move. Although of course their language had been a little more colourful. He knew how to do that, didn’t he? He knew how to seduce women. But he didn’t want one night of meaningless sex. He wanted Charlotte all the time, for as long as she would have him. 

“We seem not to be going in to town”

“Oh you’re right sorry, you needed something” He felt foolish and lost his nerve, turning to go back.

“No, Sidney” she reached out to stop him with a hand on his arm. “I definitely prefer a walk on the cliffs” he let out a breath.

“Good” He rallied, “Charlotte, I was hoping we might find a moment alone”

“You were?” He could feel the tension between them now, as it had been that night. He stepped forward impulsively and felt his heart beat faster. Suddenly he was so close to her, and she was looking up at him with those irresistible brown eyes and that open expression. 

“Charlotte”

“Yes” 

Then he was kissing her, and she was kissing him back. It was full of everything they could not put into words, the desperation they had felt since that night, the passion, the love. She was there in his arms and nothing else mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is actually the last chapter I have planned out, I hope you enjoyed it :) I have a few ideas for an epilogue or a couple of extra chapters so I'm going to hold off marking it as definitely complete until I've decided. Its not perfect but this is the first thing I've written and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far and to everyone who commented.


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